Equestrian Selection- (Previously-Just Sky) SYOC!
by zanzibaby
Summary: 20 years after America's and Maxon's wedding, their son Prince Chase gets ready for his Selection. Although handsome and noble, Chase is very arrogant and convinced of his own self-worth. 35 girls are whisked to the palace for a whirlwind adventure. Will Chase lose his high-and-mighty attitude? See what happens in "Equestrian Selection"! SYOC CLOSED! Thank you all for submitting!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey all! It's Zanzi here! Thanks for reading this story, and especially this Author's note part. No one ever reads these. I know I certainly don't. I could literally say anything, and nobody would care. Purple elephants eating tambourines. If anyone actually read that sentence, please comment on it! I don't know why the elephants would be eating tambourines, but... any who.**

**This is only my second fanfic, so it's probably not gonna be very good. I'm gonna make mistakes, spell things wrong, and mostly take a LONG time to update. But please cut me some slack. You were all in my place before! Ok, with that said here are some things you should know about this story, me as an author, and reviewing:  
**

**1. This is a story focusing almost solely on OC's, not the book's original characters. America and Maxon will definitely play a part, and a few others will pop up, but it really focuses on the new crowed prince of Illéa, Chase, and his selection. Soooooo... just a fair warning, its not for everyone. I understand if you do not like this kind of stories, so if it is not for you, you have my permission to leave this page right now and continue listening to "After Ever After 2", or watching ****The Avengers****, or whatever you people do in your free time.**

**2. I do love to write, but editing is not my strong suite. So if you see spelling mistakes, please know that I am young, and trying my hardest. I do have an editor, but he is going away to college soon, so it will be harder to try and reach him. Feel free to correct my spelling mistakes in the comments, because I know some of you just can't help yourself.**

**3. I accept all types of positive and constructive criticism, even negativity, but please keep ALL comments free of curse words and profanity. Keep it to like a G or a PG level please! Thank you!**

**Well, you guys are probably bored by now, and - wait, who am I kidding, none of you read this part- I'm gonna go on with the story. So without further ado, here is the first chapter in "Just Sky"**

Prologue

"Do I really have to do this?" the voice said from inside the room.

The maid who had been sent to change the sheets in the Queen's Suite paused outside the door. She, a laundry girl, was not allowed to be in the presence of anyone higher than a lady's maid, and if she was not mistaken, that was the voice of the young prince. She pressed her ear to the door and listened eagerly.

A different voice, female this time, answered. "Yes, honey, you do. It is tradition of the country."

The maid recognized it at once of the voice of Queen America. This, judging by the strictness but affection in her voice, meant that she was indeed talking to her son, Prince Chase. The maid leaned ever closer, after first checking over her shoulders to make sure no one was watching her.

Chase sighed, "I don't care if it's tradition. It's stupid! I mean, who has the time to date 35 girls at once? Not me, that's for sure!"

His mother laughed, "Now Chase, your father and I have been over this before! The selection is not 'stupid'. It is a perfect way for someone like you to meet a fine young lady."

The Prince was immediately on edge. "What do you mean 'someone like me'? What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.

Now it was Queen America's turn to sigh. "Chase, I just mean of royal descent. Someone how has been born and bred royally. Why do you have to be so suspicious of everything lately? Your sister never behaves like this!"

Now, the maid was outside the door, but she was pretty sure Chase rolled his eyes when he said, "Don't compare me to Lizzie! She's 12! There hasn't ever been an opportunity for her to be edgy, let alone date 35 people at the same time!"

The maid could hear footsteps rapidly approaching the door, and she barely had time to hide behind a column before the door swung open and Her Majesty herself strolled through the door. Her normally pale face was flushed with the heat of the argument and her long red hair had not retained some of her curls as cleanly as before. There were dark circles around her eyes, and she looked very stressed about something.

Her son Prince Chase, on the other hand, looked well groomed and rested. But he too was bright red and a stormy expression was furrowed on his brow. He opened his mouth and closed it a few times, like he was debating whether or not to yell after his mother, who by now, was halfway down the hallway.

"I could just date normally, you know! I think the ladies would love me! Any girl would be lucky to have me!"

The Queen whirled around, face flushed in anger. She looked like she was about to scream at him, but she retained her composure when she spoke. "I see. Is the Selection not good enough for his royal highness?"

He blushed, obviously embarrassed, and stuttered slightly when he spoke, "That is-s no-not- That isn't what I meant!"

America did not back down, however. "Ohhh isn't it! I've seen some of the letters you send to other countries. You seem to think they would be LUCKY to have you as there ally. Well, here's a lesson for you 'Your Highness'. I will not put up with my children strutting around like a peacock! You think you are the center of the universe, but I hate to tell you, the world does not revolve around you! You alone do get to ignore centuries old traditions and customs. Maxon and I are in charge, not you. When we are gone or retired, you can run the country however you want, but I'm not dead yet. I am still in charge, and you WILL do as I say!"

Prince Chase blushed harder but did not speak as he watched his mother turn on her heel and walk briskly away. Then she stopped and turned back to face him.

"Oh, and the Selection submissions have been picked and the Report is tonight, so make sure you lose the 'king of anything' attitude by then. One of these 35 girls will be your future wife, so you had better make a strong first impression." 

And with that, the Queen of Illéa turned her back on him and continued to walk back down the corridor. After a moment, Prince Chase huffed angrily and stormed away from the Queen's suite, presumably back to his room. The poor laundry maid crept out from behind the pillar, obviously shaken up and not even bothering to change the sheets, ran back down to the kitchens. She had some interesting gossip to share, that's for sure.

**Soooo... how did y'all like it? I thought it was ok, at least. I mean, at least I didn't kill off a beloved character from the actual series! That comes later WHAHAHA! XD No... I probably won't. But how bout that prince huh? Kind of got an attitude issue. I always have loved America, but writing a speech like that was even more fun. And don't worry, this won't be the last one. I plan to include many more parenting speeches from her, to both Chase and his little sister Lizzie. I've got to have some fun, am I right? The next chapter will be seeing all the profiles of the girls for the selection, and you will get to meet my most developed OC. YAY!**

**Please read and review! Tons of hugs for all you who read this far! Thank you and have a good night! **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One: Sky's Introduction

_Knock knock knock_ went a sharp tap on the door of Skyla Grace's bedroom. it echoed just loud enough that Skyla could hear it, but just softly enough so she could pretend she didn't. It was Friday, the one day a week she didn't have to work. Couldn't she just sleep in for once?

_Knock knock knock! _The sound came again, louder this time. Skyla rolled over in her bed and pressed the pillow over her ears. She groaned quietly and then tried to ignore the noise.

This time, instead of knocking, she heard her mother call, "Sky! Are you up yet?".

Sky removed the pillow from her head and sat up. She yawned sleepily before answering. "Oh yah *yawn*, I've been up for *yawn* hours." She barely had time to finish her sentence before she promptly fell back asleep again.

Her mother laughed quietly, figuring out what had happened. She tip-toed down the stairs and found the family's chocolate lab, Cocoa. She grabbed him by the collar and walked back up the shabby staircase to Sky's room. She opened the door softly and let Cocoa go bounding in. The lab ran right to the bed and took a flying leap up onto it, landing on Sky's head.

Sky made something of a groan and a humph as 75 pounds of dog hit her straight in the face. She sat up and gently pushed Cocoa off. She looked at her mother with an angry, but slightly amused expression.

Her mother smiled guiltily. "Well, it's your own fault for not getting up!" she said sternly, but seemed like she was trying hard not to laugh.

Sky fake pouted, "MOM! It's my only day to sleep in, and you wake me up at," she checked her alarm, "7:30!"

Her mother smiled knowingly. "I just had a feeling that you would want to be up and awake today. The Selection report is on tonight, and I need to do a few errands."

Skyla was confused, "Ummm... what does that have to do with me?"

Her mother rolled her eyes. "That means you have to babysit the twins, you weirdo!"

"Ohhhhhh..." Sky laughed. "I thought you meant I needed to really watch the Selection report! I mean, I didn't even enter, so why is it that important? But know I get it!" Sky rolled out of bed and made for her closet.

"Yah, I'll totally watch them for you Mom" she said cheerfully.

Since Sky's back was turned, she didn't see her mother blush slightly pink when the Selection was mentioned. By the time she did calm down, her mom looked perfectly normal.

Her mom pulled herself out of the daze and smiled. "Thanks honey! I knew i could count on you!"

Sky stood up straighter and smiled. She loved her mom, and was glad when she could make her proud. Ever since her dad had died, the family of fives had been forced into an even greater poverty. They weren't starving, but money was always scarce. There were only three working people in the house. With a family of 6, that wasn't always enough.

"You're welcome Mom! Anything for you!" Sky smiled and hugged her mom.

She watched as her mother walked downstairs, before she re-closed the door and proceeded to get dressed. She changed into regular jeans and a lacey purple top with medium length sleeves. She brushed her long golden hair and put it up into a high ponytail. She didn't apply any makeup, as she had nowhere to go. She quickly threw on her brown flats and ran down the stairs.

She made her way into the room that served as a family/sitting room. It was small and shabby, but comfortable. A cream colored sofa sat in the middle of the room, which was a little darker than the eggshell walls. There was a small coffee table made of dark oak in front of it. The little TV sat tucked away in a little corner. Her mom's old armchair was parallel to the TV. Besides that, there was nothing else furniture-wise.

People-wise, however, the room was bustling. Her older 19 year-old brother, Aiden, was about to go to work. He smiled at Sky, a little tiredly but with affection. Poor Aiden! He had to work 6 1/2 days a week at the textile factory. He swung his work bag over his shoulder, and kissed his mother on the cheek, before walking out of the house, whistling as he went.

Elliot, Sky's little brother, was playing cards on the coffee table. He was 11, and was seriously obsessed with anything games. They didn't have the money to afford video games, but he had a few shabby decks of cards which he loved. Elliot took every opportunity to play. Their mom kissed Elliot and whispered to him, "Be good!" before walking out to go shopping. He didn't even look up from his card game.

Sky's charges were sitting on the floor, playing with paper dolls. The twins, Lily and Rose, were about to turn 6. They looked nothing like Sky, with brownish hair and light green eyes, but looked EXACTLY like each other. It was always pretty hard to tell them apart. Luckily, they weren't old enough to start playing tricks on the rest of the family.

"Hey girls!" Sky said to the twins. They both looked up at her. Lily ran to hug her, but Rose continued to play. Lily had always been a little more friendly. Sky gave her sis a quick hug.

"Whatcha girls wanna do today?"

Lily looked up at Sky, her big green eyes gleaming. "I wanta go swe a poni" She smiled, showing her to missing front teeth. Rose finally got up, and nodded chanting, "PONY, pony, pony!"

Sky's smile dropped slightly. The girl's loved horses almost as much as she did, but the only stable nearby was owned by the royal family. They didn't live anywhere near the palace, but the royal family had a small stable, full of their trail riding horses. It was only open to the highest level twos, and fives like them would definitely not be allowed. Sky didn't know what to do. She didn't want to get in trouble, but looking at the twins beaming faces as they ran around chanting "PONY PONY PONY!". There was only one thing to do.

**Form for SYOC:**

(Please be descriptive! I will need descriptions to write the chapters. I will choose around 4 to 5 OCs to be main character, and the rest will be more of background characters. Please do NOT only do nice girls! That would be soooooo boring!)

**Full Name:** (Please do first, middle, and last)

**Nickname:**

**Age: **(16-19)

**Caste:**

Province: (Either do "Whichever one you need" or check my page for open ones.

**Occupation: **

**Appearance before the Selection Makeover: **(Please include height and weight)

**Appearance after the Selection Makeover:**

**Personality: **(DO NOT JUST SAY NICE! Include flaws)

**Best Traits:**

**Worst Traits:**

**History/Background:**

**Family: **(At least names and ages. Occupation and personality would be AMAZ)

**Hobbies:**

Skills:

**How they would treat other characters: **(Maids, guards, the royals, Prince Chase, the other Selected)

**First Date Ideas: **(Just wondering xD)

**Ambitions/Goals for the Selection:**

**Wardrobe for the Selection: **(If you could, post links on your bio and tell me)

**Hair for the Selection: **(Post links on your bio, as they don't send on PMs)

**_Optional: _****Describe there maids: **(Just if you want to. If you don't I can make them up)

**_Optional: _****Dialogue Ideas: **(Examples of them talking to people like the Prince, other selected. Since you don't know anyone else, you can use Sky if you want as someone to talk to)

**Extra Info I Should Know: **(Basically anything else xD)

**Again, please PM me! I check my inbox regularly! Thank you so much in advance and I hope to update soon.**

**3 Zanzi! ******


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi All! Zanzi here! I know I kinda left off on a cliffhanger with Sky's intro, but you are going to have to bear with me because this chapter will introduce a submitted OC. I figured if I showed everyone that I take time to introduce characters, they may submit more. Ok, first shout outs then the chapter! **

EruditeAbnegationMockingjay: **First, LOVE LOVE LOVE the name! Second, thanks for submitting an awesome character. This chapter is about her, so I hope you like it. Feel free to submit another character if you want! **

justanotherguest (Guest): **Thank you for submitting, but unfortunately the comments section has deleted the comment. I think it was too long. So, please either make an account to send me your character, or post a shorter review. Thank you and I'm so sorry.**

shadeslayerprincess**: Awww! Thanks! Glad you liked it!**

AthenaofVersailles: **Thanks for submitting an awesome character! But, sorry, I had to change Brenda's name because I really want her to compete in the Selection!**

**Also, I'm seriously laughing because EVERYONE who submitted wanted there first date to be with horses. I semi-called that for Skyla, but I'll see what I can do, ok :)**

**Without further notice, I'm going to introduce **AthenaofVersailles's **character, Josephine Lorena Maxfeild!**

Chapter 3- Out of Sheer Spite

Josie was having a bad day. She had overslept, been late to work at the diner, broken up three bar fights, forgot to shut the refrigerator door, and gotten hot coffee spilled right on her front. And it was only 10:00 in the morning. But all this Josie could handle.

What she could not handle was the sight of her mortal enemy, Brenda Fox, waltzing into the diner like she owned the place. Her perfect dark hair hung long and lean, and she smiled a fake smile at everyone before skipping over to Josie.

"Morning Josie! Lovely day! Oh wait, forgot you were a six. My bad, you probably have to work today. Boo hoo!" She smiled a fake smile and tossed her hair over her shoulders.

This was not what Josie needed today. Her face grew red with anger. Why, of all the days, did Josie have to come here. She was a two, and this kind of a diner was mainly for sixes and sevens, even eights. Didn't she have other people to go bother?

Josie sighed. "What do you want Brenda?" she said exhaustedly.

Brenda batted her eyelashes innocently, "Ohhhh, why so sad? Aren't we friends?"

"Ummm... why would I be friends with a jerk like you? I have better people to be friends with!"

She waggled her finger at Josie, like she was reproaching a child. "Now, now, now! Whatever do you mean by that? I've been nothing but friendly this whole time. I even come to your stupid diner!"

"Wish you wouldn't." Josie mumbled.

Brenda fake-gasped, "Well, fine then! I didn't want to hang out with some blue-haired six freak anyway!" she yelled at me, before turning to walk out the door.

Josie was stunned, but luckily, or rather unluckily, for her, Josie's fellow co-worker, Ginny Tate, walked into the diner, nearly hitting Brenda with the door.

"Watch where your going!" Brenda yelled at poor Ginny, who blushed scarlet and muttered an apology.

This was Josie's last straw. She could handle being late to work. She could handle the hot coffee spill. What she was not going to deal with was a a stupid two yelling at her best friend. There was no way anyone got to treat Ginny like that. Ginny was the sweetest person on the planet, and no one, and i mean NO ONE was going to yell at her on Josie's watch.

Without really thinking what she was doing, Josie grabbed the pitcher of hot coffee from its place on the counter and walked over to the door, where Brenda was still yelling at Ginny. Without bothering to say anything, she took the pot and dumped the entire contents onto Brenda's head. Brenda screamed as the hot liquid touched her, and whirled around so she was face to face with Josie. Even though the two was nearly 2 years younger, they stood almost the same height with Brenda's heals. Brenda was completely furious, and the steam coming off her now coffee-scented hair didn't really help matters. Lets just say that if looks could kill, both of them would have been goners.

"YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE THAT! When I win the Selection, you are going to be executed! Murdered! Or at LEAST thrown out of the country!"

"Wait, you're entering the Selection? Aren't you too young?"

Brenda huffed, "Ummm... no! I turned sixteen last month, you idiot! And I'm not just entering, I plan to win!"

Josie didn't really think before answering, "I doubt it! I'm planning to enter as well, and when I'm princess, I'll just kill you first!" she screamed at Brenda.

By now, all of the customers where looking at the two teenage girls yelling. Not the most pleasant place to eat breakfast. While both girls thought of what to say next, two sevens got up from where they were sitting and slowly walked out the door, looking a bit frightened. Ginny gave them both a half-hearted smile and called, "Come back soon!" after them. They both shook there heads wildly and started running away the instant after they got out the door.

After this brief pause, Brenda started laughing. "You!" she pointed at Josie, "Become a princess! When pigs fly, I'll believe that!". And, with that final word of 'encouragement' she waltzed out the door and into the street.

Josie stuttered, trying to come up with a cool comeback, but nothing occurred to her. She turned around to face Ginny, who wore a facial expression of half disappointment and half amusement.

Josie smiled weakly, "I may have gone a little to far".

Ginny laughed, "Well, you disturbed all the people in the diner, spilled coffee on a wealthy two, and scared a few sevens into never coming back. Sounds like a typical day in the life of Josie if you ask me" and she gave her friend a hug, before pulling back and making eye contact. "But, you should probably go fill out your form for the Selection."

"What?" Josie was confused. "I wasn't really going to do it. I was just lying, plus, I don't stand a chance against people like her" she nodded at the door where Brenda had just walked through.

"You stand more of a chance then you may think! And I, for one, would LOVE to see Brenda taken down a peg!" They whole diner cheered at this statement!

Josie blushed, but carefully took the form Ginny was offering her. She stared at it and decided to skip over the long introduction. She already knew who the prince was, anyway, so she went straight to filling out the form.

**Selection Form:**

Name: _Josephine Lorena Maxfeild_

Age: _17 1/2_

Caste: _6_

Occupation: _Waitress_

Province: _Fennley_

Height: 5'7

Weight: 127 lbs

Hair Color: _Honey blond, with turquoise highlights_

Eye Color: _Light hazel_

Skin Tone: _Pale_

Languages Spoken: _Fluent English, some Spanish and Russian_

Hobbies: _Coin-flipping tricks, drawing, painting, handwork, hanging out with friends_

And once she finally filled out the form and took a picture of herself (**A/N yes, it's a selfie, deal)** Josie skipped over to the mailbox outside the cafe and dropped the letter in. In two days, it would be Friday, and she would find out the names of the Selected girls. In 48 hours, her life could change forever. In 48 hours, she could have the chance to be a princess!

**Hope you all liked it! Please review and submit! **


	4. Chapter 4

**OMG! You all are SOOOOOO awesome! I got like 4 new characters, and several new favorites/follows from one chapter alone! Thanks for all the sweet reviews, it warms my heart!**

I have decided to stop give individualized shoot-outs unless I'm answering questions. Instead, I'll just thank you all together for your awesomeness! Today's shoot-outs go to shadeslayerprincess**, **pmollymay**, **Queen Amberly**, **fairy not princess**, and **AthenaofVersailles **fro submitting! And anyone I missed, because that's a HUGE list! Not complaining at all! Keep 'em coming, only 9 spots are full.**

**Also, make sure to read **shadeslayerprincess111**'s AWESOME SYOC story. All the spots are full, but cheer on my two characters, Gracie and Mackenzie. Actually, only cheer on Gracie because I'm Team Gracethan all the way! xD It's WAY better than mine, so I would go read it. NOW!  
Well, after you finish reading this of course ;)**

**Without anymore random author's notes from boring ol' me, lets get straight to chapter 4, shall we! This introduces **EruditeAbnegationMockinjay**'s character, Celine, who is totally fun to write for! Hope all y'all like it!**

Chapter 4- Gymnastics Pains

Celine wiped the sweat off her brow, and pushed herself off her knees and into her feet. She had been practicing her newest gymnastic routine for the big showcase, and she couldn't quite get her back handspring right. The last time she had tried she had face-planted onto the mat. Not fun!

"C'mon, Celine, get your head in the game!" she thought to herself. This wasn't the way she practiced! She was always perfect, always on. She was the best gymnast at this gym, an no stupid handspring was going to keep her from that title, or from taking gold.

Of course, she knew what was distracting her. It had been on her mind ever since that stupid envelope had arrived at her house. The Selection. Every girls' dream. To marry Prince Chase an become a princess. Happily ever after.

Well, she should say every girl's dream, EXCEPT for her. Celine had no desire to become a princess. She was 18, for god's sake! She didn't want to married! She had goals to beat, competitions to win, little kids to mentor. She couldn't leave now!

And anyway, she was already a two. She couldn't really climb up the social ladder anymore. Well, she could be a one, but how boring would that be! Sitting all day with stuffy old officials, ugh! Learning how to behave, no thanks! Dating the hottest guy in the country, well, that part doesn't sound too bad.

But, it wasn't worth it. Celine just didn't want to be the princess, She didn't even want to think about it. Her life was not a fairytale. And it wasn't going to be anything if she didn't get that handspring perfect.

She threw herself back into practice. About an hour later, she had gotten closer, but it was still not nearly as close as it could have been. Celine was still attempting when her coach, Diana, walked out of her office and made her way over to her. Then Diana just kind of stood there and watched her practice for a while.

"Just what I need! An audience" Celine thought in her head. She tried to shake off her nerves, and went back to practice. She went through her full routine perfectly, until she got to the back handspring. She took a running start into it, leaped, and landed hard on the mat. The worst part was that she collapsed right on top of one of her ankles, and heard a snap. She inhaled a sharp breath as pain flooded through her body. It hurt so badly, she thought she might faint. She yelled for help and heard Diana's footsteps running towards her. Tears welled in her eyes and she looked up to she her ankle already swelling and turning purple. The pain was too much for her to bear. With last scream in agony, Celine's eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed to the floor.

-=-LINE BREAK-=-

"TWO MONTHS! I'm not going to be allowed to do gymnastics for two whole months!"

It was a few hours later, and Celine was sitting comfortably in a hospital bed, after having received pain medication. It had been decided that her ankle was not broken, but it just had a hairline fracture. Although, she would be able to walk on it within 2 weeks, she had just had some alarming news from her coach.

Diana tried to sooth her, "Just be glad it's not broken! Two months instant that long! You'll be back before you know it, good as new."

Celine glared at her. Stupid back handspring... She cursed inwardly, and rolled her eyes. And the week before the competition too. Now she couldn't even do a handstand for two whole months.

Celine knew it wasn't Diana's fault, but she didn't care. She whined, "But what am I going to do for TWO whole months?!"

The coach gave her a sly smile, "Well, I had a thought! But your not going to like it much." And she trust an envelope into Celine's hands.

Celine looked at the thick glossy paper and then rolled her eyes. "No way!"

Diana gave her the puppy dog pout. "But please! Here me out! The Selection would be such a good opportunity. You're off for 2 months anyway, and you could donate some of the money you earn to the studio! Please Cel! Please"

Celine sighed. She knew Diana wasn't going to give up. Plus, she was free for 2 months anyway... What was the harm in trying.

"You know how unlikely it is I'll get picked?"

Diana nodded, beaming happily.

"You're not gonna stop pressuring me are you!"

Diana laughed. "Nope! Now smile!" she snapped the picture as Celine half smiled, half glared at the camera.

"Now, I'll leave you in peace while you fill out the form" Diana said, and she left the hospital room.

Celine skipped over the useless writing and went straight to filling up the form.

**Selection Form:**

Name: _Celine Arianna Winchester_

Age: _18_

Caste: _2_

Province: _Clermont_

Occupation: _Pro-gymnast_

Languages Spoken: _Fluent English, French, German, and Italian_

Hair Color: _Auburn_

Eye Color: _Green_

Skin Tone: _Fair, slight tan_

Hobbies: _Learning languages, archery, gymnastics, bowling_

Celine put the pen down and sealed the envelope. Then she sank back into the pillows. Her ankle still did hurt a lot, and she was super tired. The last thing she thought before she fell fast asleep was "I can't be seriously entering. Maybe the doctors should check for brain damage tomorrow."

**Well, I hope you all liked it. **EriditeAbnegationMockingjay**, sorry to hurt your character! I hope you liked it anyway! That was two chapters in 24 hours, so I'm exhausted! I'll try to update soon, but I have a horse show all this weekend, so it may be difficult. Wish me luck as i attempt to go for the blue. Hahaha, I feel like Celine! xD**

**Love you all!**

**-Zanzi ~3~ **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5- Stalker in the Woods

***Hi everyone! I hope you like this chapter! It introduces my other OC, Stella, and also has a princely POV. Yay! Sorry it's not one of your guys' characters, but those are hard to write, and I had a good idea. I hope you like it! I also threw in some family fluff, Maxmerica, and sibling rivalry. Also I'm hosting a competition. Think of a cool shipping for your character! Whom Evers I like the best, will win the first date with Prince Chase, and he probably won't even be that much of a jerk! You have 3 chapters to think of one, and please comment if you do. You are ONLY allowed to make a shipping name for your character you created! If you don't have a character, make one! :)**

**Examples of Shipping Names:**

**(This one is from shadeslayerprincess's Selection Story, so READ IT!)**

**Prince Nathan x Gracelyn Luna= Gracethan**

**Alright, happy creating and I'll submit mine as well. Here comes the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the song "Music in the Treetops" all the rights go to Hasbro Studios. And no, I'm not really a pegasister, I just heard that song when I was babysitting my little cousin and it seemed to fit perfectly. **

Chapter 5- The Stable Girl

Stella woke up on the bright fall morning and smiled. The sun was shinning and poured into the window of her small cottage on the grounds of the palace. She had a tiny bedroom, barely enough for her bed, but she loved it anyway. It was all hers. She didn't care if she was a 6. She didn't care if she lived in a small, cramped apartment with her dad. She loved every inch of it. Call her an optimist, but Stella had the feeling that today was going to be a very good day!

She changed into tan riding breeches and a crisp blue polo shirt. She braided her wavy brown hair, and tied a purple bow right over her braid. She looked in the mirror. Her dad often told Stella that she was the prettiest girl in the palace ground. Which, was really true. She had long wavy brown hair, with natural red highlights. She had freckles all over her nose and dimples when she smiled. But her best feature were her eyes.

Stella's eyes were like nothing anyone had ever ever seen. They were a beautiful sparkly violet. Like literally, they were purple. Although it seems unnerving, it was actually really beautiful. Stella was fairly small, which was good because she still rode a pony. She was a large pony, but still.

She skipped down the stairs and into the small kitchen. Her father was sitting at the dining room table, reading a newspaper.

"Hi Daddy!" she chirped happily, and bent down to kiss him on the cheek.

He put down his newspaper and hugged her. "Hi Princess!"

She smiled widely and hugged him back. Stella was really close to her father. It had been just them for as long as she had remembered. Stella's mom had died giving birth to her, so they had been on there own since then.

Her dad started to read again, but then suddenly he remembered something. "Oh yah, Cass wants you down in the stables ASAP! She seemed pretty excited, so you better hurry up!"

"Thanks Dad! I'll go right now!" and Stella skipped out the door on her way to the stables.

The day was perfect. The birds were chirping, and the trees were a beautiful red color. The fall air cooled the palace grounds off a lot, making it such beautiful day. She walked to the palace stables, with a spring in her step. As she walked a few birds flew off the trees and circled around her.

"Oh, hello little friends! You're song is oh so pretty!" she said sweetly to the birds.

"Oh yes, why it is a very beautiful day, certainly something worth singing about!"

And before she knew it, she was skipping and singing a made-up tune. Little did she know the royal family was walking only a little way in front of her.

-=-LINE BREAK-=-

*Prince Chase's POV*

Ugg! I hate Mondays. Monday mornings is when Mom and Dad go trail riding, so Lizzie and I are stuck taking a riding lesson in the arena. I mean, like, I actually have to listen! Who wants to do that?

But sadly, Lizzie doesn't share my feelings. She's skipping down the path, pulling me along. She's twelve, but she acts like she's about 3. She basically likes to do anything outside. She'll walk around the grounds for hours and Chase butterflies. She loves to ride her pony, Buttercup, too. Weird kid, my sister is.

Lost in my thoughts, I run smack into Lizzie. Why did she stand right in front of me? Again, I think she's got a screw loose. But, she's just standing there, a peaceful expression on her face.

"Get outta my way, squirt!" I say, but she immediately shushes me.

"Shhhh! Listen!" she whispers, holding a finger to her lips.

I listen, but all I can here is normal fall things, birds chirping, leaves crunching, a girl humming

Wait, humming! Whose singing? Well, whoever it is it sounds really pretty. I mean, for a girl. The birds seem to chirp to the music and they fly away, and I finally see a girl walking through the forest. She's really good! Her music is like the fall air, sweet and fresh. And you can't help but want to listen.

I creep closer, leaving Lizzie, to listen. Now she seems to be talking to the birds. What's she saying? Why does she talk to animals?

"Oh, hello little friends! You're song is oh so pretty!" she says to the birds, who chirp and flutter around her.

"Oh yes, why it is a very beautiful day! Certainly something worth singing about!"

And then, she bursts into song, and it's beauty nearly takes my breath away. She's so good, she sounds like a princess would. Well, not Lizzie because she sounds like a dead cow.

_"There's music in the treetops,_

_And there's music in the vale. _

_And all around the music fills the sky_

_There's music in the river,_

_And there's music in the grass_

_And the music makes your heart soar in reply. _

_Ohhhh ohh oh oh oh_

_Ohhhooo ohhhhh woah ohh ohh ohh_

_Ohh oh oh, oh oh oh, _

_Ohhhhh ohh woah ahh woah ah oh_

_Ohh ohh, oh ha oh, oh ha oh, _

_OH HA WOAH OHHHHH OOOO OHHHHHHHHH!_

She hits the high note perfectly. I wish she would sing more. Sadly, it's so beautiful that I stumble out of my hiding place. And the girl sees me and gasps.

Hehehe oops... She wasn't supposed to see me.

"Ummmm... who are you, and why are you hiding behind a bush." the girl asks.

Now I'm offended! Doesn't she know I'm the Prince. "Who are you to talk to me like that! Don't you know who I am?!"

"Well, no!" the girl says, "All I know is that you apparently stalk people in the woods!"

I'm about to get really mad, when my sister pops out of nowhere and sees the girl. She squeals, and then runs over and tackles her in a big hug. "Stella!" she screams!

The girl, Stella, hugs her back. "Hey Lizzie!"

"Are you still teaching me today? Please please please!" Lizzie begs.

"Wait, teach her what?" I ask, very confused.

Lizzie rolls her eyes, "Riding, duh! This is Stella, my riding instructor."

Ohhhhh ok, now I get why Lizzie knows her. Of course, I should have known. Lizzie drags me over to Stella and then bounces on the balls of her feet. "Stella, this is my brother, Chase".

Stella looks a little embarrassed and curtsies, with surprising strength for a six. Well, I'm assuming she's a six, if all she does is work in the stables.

"Your highness!" she mumbles. She looks up at me and I see her face. Wow, her eyes are purple. Beautiful, I catch myself thinking, before I shake it off. She a six, not even worth thinking about.

"Why are we all stopped in the forest?" I hear my father's voice behind us and the sound of hooves. I turn around and see my mother and father holding hands as they ride there trail horses down the path. They look so peaceful, so happy.

"Yes, good question Maxon! And who is she?" my mother says while pointing at Stella.

Stella curtsies again. "I'm Stella, your majesties. Stella Hanson. I'm your daughter's riding instructor."

I could see both my parents sizing her up. Not so discretely, might I add! Then, my dad spoke, "So, Stella, how old are you?"

"Ummmmm... 18, your majesty."

My parents exchanged happy looks. My mother spoke, "So Stella, did you enter the Selection?"

I blushed. Why did they have to be embarrassing? Although, I have to say I was curious. Stella was really pretty, and Lizzie loved her. Wait... what am I saying! She's a six.

But a little part of me, a part I tried to lock away, really wanted to meet her.

I was so busy in my thoughts, I didn't even here what she had said. Had she entered or not? I hated myself for wanting her name to be called. She smiled, curtsied at my parents and I again, and then walked away with Lizzie to start her lesson with Buttercup.

What was with that girl? Why did she have to be so stuck in my head, even as I walked back to the castle. Why did she give me this warm happy feeling when she sang.

What was wrong with me?

***Hope y'all liked it! :) We still need 24 more girls, so SUBMIT SUBMIT SUBMIT! Also favorite and review! And read shadeslayerprincess111's story and be on team Gracethan with me. AND FIGURE OUT YOUR SHIPPING NAMES FOR THE SHIPPING NAME COMPETITION! Winner gets first date with Prince Chase, and he won't even be a jerk. Well, much of a jerk xD!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi everyone! Zanzi is back! The horse show is done, and we did pretty well! My horse and I got 2 seconds, 2 fourths, and a fifth! So yah, it was awesome!**

Ok, sorry, but this is not going to be a new chapter. Just some announcements. The first thing, is that I'm not going to do too many more personalized chapters of background. I will do maybe one or two more before we get to the names being announced. Then, characters will get airplane chapters and makeover chapters. And then the palace!

The next thing is that please, if you are thinking about submitting, here are some new rules. NO MORE TWOS! I have way too many twos. Please try and and do fours! I have 0 fours! And no more people who love horses. I have at least 6 girls who do, and it's kinda boring. And I need more spoiled brats! Ok, I think that's it.

And last, submit your shipping names BEFORE the next chapter, if you want to count for anything. I will choose the five top winners. Number 1 gets the first date, and goes on through 5. After that, I'll give either Sky or Stella a chance, and then I'll just pick at random.

Mk, chapter 6 for, which introduces 4love4love4's character, who is amazeballs! So, hope you like it.  
  
Chapter 6- Just a One Horse Race

Alaska looked in the morning and smiled. She looked amazing! Well, she always looked amazing, but today she was especially astonishing. She had gotten a good night's sleep, and her pale "porcelain" skin had a healthy glow. There were no circles under her her gray eyes, and her hair was pulled into the perfect ponytail. She was fab-u-los!

Best of all, was her new outfit. Her employers at the track had ordered new racing silks in a beautiful navy blue color, with a white heart on the back. Her pants were white also, with the same color blue lining and pockets. The goggles she wore on the track were blue too, and her tall boots were polished and shinning.

Alaska was ready for her race. Now, all she needed to do was get there.

So, after one more look in the mirror, she hopped in her light blue punch bug and drove to the track. Security stopped her at the entrance to the thoroughbred stables, but she simply waved her jockeys license in their faces and drove on. Why be polite to a bunch of sixes, when she was a two. Everyone was beneath the great Alaska Kendell, the most fashionable jockey alive. She may have only won 1 race in her 4 year racing career, but she looked incredible while losing. Ever since that magazine article calling her "the best looking jockey on the track", she had been steadily employed. She got a lot of money modeling for Dover Saddlery and SmartPak, horse tack companies. Who cares if she never won, when what really mattered was looking this good. Screw the three Rs. Alaska was a firm believer in the three Ms. Modeling, Magazines, and Makeup. Everything a girl could want.

When she got to the track, she parked and let herself into the stables. She found her horse, Blanca, sitting patiently in her stall, spotlessly clean. Alaska smirked. Of course, her horse liked to look as good as she did. She opened the small door and let herself into the stall. "Hi girlie!" she crooned, "Ready to run?" The small chestnut nickered and stomped her foot, as if to say "Duh! Of course I am, cause I'm amazing!" Blanca was a little full of herself, but the mare had good right to be. She was the only female horse to have this long of a racing career. The pair hadn't been together long, but before Alaska got her hands on the horse, the mare had been quite a champion. She was a little temperamental, but nothing Alaska couldn't handle. She was the best, after all.

Now all she had to do was hand the horse off to the grooms, and mount.

**-=-LINE BREAK-=-  
**  
Once the mare was all tacked up, and Alaska had changed, the grooms helped her mount. Blanca tried to bolt out from under her, but Alaska reigned her back. "I know, I know, you want to run! Save it for the track ok, Blanca" she muttered and patted her horse. Blanca snorted and pawed at the ground. Nerves quelled in Alaska's stomach. Blanca had never behaved that before. She tried to settle herself, but she was a little scared. This was we first big race with Blanca, she couldn't blow it.

"Pull yourself together! Your Alaska Rose Kendell! You don't get nervous! You're way to fabulous for that." she thought to herself. And with that final pep talk, she trotted Blanca out of the stables and onto the race track.

She was greeted by the cheers of a hundred thousand fans. Cameras flashed, all trying to get a picture of her. Blanca spooked again, and threw her head down, as if to buck. She tried to rear up, but Alaska turned her in a tight circle. She smiled and blew kisses at the crowd, who are it up. She and Blanca were one of two females in this race, and the other was a first time racer named Stella Holland. Stella was only a six, so she and Blanca were a crowd favorite. The crowd all voted for number two, Alaska's number, and she was pleased to see that she had 1-5 odds. She smirked when she saw that the other girl, Stella, only had 1-27 odds.

"Good luck to her." Alaska said, and then rolled her eyes. "Bet her horse is some dumpy old beast the brought from the slaughter mill". She laughed at the sight of this. No six was going to beat her. She was a trained professional, and had had beautiful, pure-bred thoroughbreds all her life. Blanca alone had cost 250,000 dollars. And that was cheap for a racehorse.

Alaska smiled as she heard her name announced as she trotted into the arena. "Number 2, Alaska Kendell riding Fast Like That". She laughed at Blanca's show name. It was a perfect for the dainty mare who just wanted to run. She walked into the starting gate and the crowd started to quite down a little. It took around 3 minutes to get the other horses into the gate, and Alaska was so busy daydreaming about modeling she didn't notice anyone come into the gates until the crowd let out an awed gasp.

Trotting into the arena, was the most stunning horse that Alaska had ever seen. He was a dark, shinny black, with four perfect stockings on his feet. Although he was obviously a thoroughbred, he had a very calm temper and walked quietly into the gate. The jockey riding him was wearing sky blue racing silks, tan breeches, chocolate brown tall boots, and a matching blue bow tied in her hair, around the ponytail. Wait! Her ponytail! This was the six! How did the freaking six mount the best horse out there! Alaska was so mad, she could scream.

The horse may have been pretty, but he was too calm to race. Which thoroughbred steps calmly into the gate? No winners, that's for sure. But no matter, she was going down. The starting bell counted down from 10 and Alaska readjusted her goggles. She was winning this race for sure! 3 2 1...

RIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGGG!

The starting bell sounded and all the horses leapt out of the gate. Alaska immediately spurred Blanca on, and took to the front of the pack. "I'll show her" she thought. She looked back and was shocked to see that Stella was right on her tail, in second place for now, but steadily gaining. As they rounded the second turn, Blanca took on even more speed, but Stella remained almost neck and neck. The other horses drew slowly back, and the two girls raced on harder and harder.

Alaska leaned over Blanca's neck and encouraged her to move fast, but the horse was tiring. Stella and her black mount drew neck and neck, and Alaska could see that she was smiling. Why would she smile?

And then, Stella's smile was reasoned, as, suddenly Stella loosened the reins and gave the horse more room. The horse surrender forward, and Alaska realized what Stella's strategy was. She had been holding her horse back, and taunting Alaska. She knew that Blanca was a sprinter, and had made her use all her energy up in the beginning. Now, with a look of horror on her face, she watched as Stella passed her, a few strides at a time. As they rounded the final turn, Blanca tried to catch up, but the dainty mare was not fast enough. Stella and her horse crossed the finish line 8 lengths before Alaska. She had lost to a six.

She could hear the announcer screaming, "First place goes to the long shot! Number 13, Stella Holland and her beautiful gelding Watch Me!"

Alaska was disgusted. Bunch of idiots, that crowd. They'd love anyone, long as she won. Grrr... Alaska was so mad she could scream. The nerve of some people. From where she was changing in the locker room, she could hear some of Stella's report. They went through the usual details like what her name was (Stella Marie Holland), her horse's name (Watch Me), and the farm she rode for (Royal Equestrians). Then, came the question.

"Well, what a charming young girl we have here! You're how old, Stella?"

"I just turned 18" Stella answered happily.

"So, do you plan to enter the Selection. You could be a chance to be a true royal, in Royal Equestrians." the announcer joked.

Stella laughed, "Well, I don't know about that, but I certainly entered! Getting chosen is the hard part!"

"I'm sure you'll have no problem! While as we speak, many of the public listening is voting you, the most beautiful jockey on the track."

Alaska steamed! That was her title! No good-for-nothing six was going to show her up. That was it! She wasn't going to let Stella beat her in two things! She'd show her!

And with that, she threw Blanca's reins to a groom, and drove away. She was already looking for a pen in her glove compartment before she even parked in her driveway. "I'll show her!" Alaska thought. Then she ran inside, pen in hand, and flipped through the mail. There it was, the glossy envelope that had arrived two days ago. She tore it open and started to fill out the form.

If she couldn't beat Stella in the race, she would beat her in the Selection instead!

**Hope you liked the chapter! This was the surprise that Stella's coach had for her, that she would let her race. I know Alaska's a little full of herself, but she is a favorite character of mine, and super fun to write for! As always, please comment, favorite and review!**


	7. Author's Note 1

**Wazzup! The author, Zanzi, here! Bringing you chapter 7! I have some really exciting news! This story has almost 1000 views! THANK YOU ALL SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!**

**Alright, I've calmed down a little. Yoga breathing right now! You guys know what it's time for *drumroll*BR THE SHIPPING NAME WINNERS!BR Here we go! I'm proud to announce the winners for the following people!BRBR 1. Jace (**AthenaOfVersialls**)BR 2. Chasie (**Fairy not princess**)BR 3. Challyssa (**Queen Amberly**)BR 4. Chasandrea (**shades! xD**)BR 5. Chatie (**E12340**)BRBR Congrats to you all! It was such a hard decision to make!**

**Sadly, I was too tired to write a chapter, but here's a story instead! YAY!**

** I also wanted to talk about a really horrible experience I had on hear, with another Selection SYOC story. It's none of you people who read this story, but even still I won't name names. Basically, I was bored late at night, and decided to submit an OC into someone's Selection story. What was odd, was the fact that it had been out for nearly two months, and she hadn't even gotten ten characters in. I figured I would help her, so I read the story, which was about 3 chapters long. Then, I looked for the form to submit my SYOC. It wasn't there, and there was no authors note saying, "Form in Bio". I read each chapter 3 times, just to make sure I didn't miss it. Nope, no form. I don't check her bio, because 1. It's late at night, and 2. There were no links saying go to the bio. So, I figure that maybe she just wants people to be descriptive. So, I create an OC for her, a very descriptive one, and send it in. I mean, it took up almost all the characters, included pet names, ext. I would have been thrilled to receive a form like this for this story. **

**But apparently she wasn't. I wake up the next morning to see a message from her. "Oh cool" I think, maybe she'll tell me if she's accepted. My feelings were hurt, however, when I read the PM. It said that I did not take time to read the story, and called me several choice names because I did not "submit using my form, which was clearly in the story". I go back, and reread the story for the forth time, and there was no form to be seen. I calmly, and pretty nicely seeing how mad I was, replied saying that I would be happy to follow the form on her story, if there was a form. I told her that I had made up a new OC, as I do every time, and I had had enough detail on it that was clear and easy to read. But, as said before, how can she expect me to fill out the form on the story, when there is no form! She writes back, more rudely than before. She insults my intelligence again, and says that form was on chapter one of the story, and why was I such an idiot for not seeing it. I go back and look at her first chapter, one paragraph of authors note, and no form. Not even a sentence like "Go see bio for form"! Nope, nothing, nada. I finally check her bio, and after a minute and a half of hunting, I find her "form". It is not titled for the story, has no info on for what it's for, and doesn't explain why it differs from any other form. I mean, the title of the story isn't even in the So basically, this is her blaming me for her formatting mistake. **

**I don't tell you this story to make her look bad, or for me to look perfect, or whatever. No, I tell you this story because it will NEVER EVER EVER happen on any of my stories. For 1. My forms will be clearly and properly displayed on the bottom of one of the chapters. For another, no one will ever be yelled at because they used the wrong form, or made they're own. I may ask you for key info, or tell you to change something because we have to many, but I will never yell at you. We are all humans, we all make mistakes *cue Christina Perri "Human"* Yes, I'm going to make mistakes, but when something is my fault, I would never blame someone else for something I did wrong. Look, I'm young, and this story isn't going to be perfect. It may not even be good. But I want to thank you all for supporting me through the good times and bad. And no one submitting a character has yelled at me yet. There's been some other weird inside jokes (*pokes shades*), but you have all been a supportive, positive **

**Thank you all so much for your support and love! I think we can hit 2000 views in 2 more months, what do you think? I don't know, maybe. I'd better start writing! I'm going to try soooooo hard to have a new chapter soon, but if I make callbacks (ACK! Lists up tomorrow!) it may be harder! But I'll try! Keep submitting OCs and we can get to the fun stuff! ;)**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hey Readers! I'm back, and this time I swear it's a chapter. I swear. So, I'm actually going to introduce a character this time. A very special character to me! So yah, it's going to be sorta a long chapter. Which is good! Right? **

**The character from this chapter of the story was made by a guest reviewer, Nova. Her character, Nova Karlina Northgale is the only eight in this competition. Now, normally, I would be hesitant about using an eight, but she had such an AMAZING backstory and reasoning, that it seemed to totally work. So, a big round of applause for her!**

**Also, I'm super excited to announce we passed 1000 views this morning! OMG I WAS SOOOOO HAPPY! I like started dancing. Awkward. ^_^! You guys should be soooooo proud of yourselves! Thank you for giving me this opportunity! Hugs and kisses to all y'all.**

**Ok, I'm going to start the chapter now. I know you are all super excited! Probably, maybe, I dunno. I'll take what I can get. Call back were super fun! The cast list is posted Monday, and I'm super nervous and excited! And maybe a little explody. Mk, I'll write, and it will calm me down. **

**Ohhhh! One more thing! I'm going to have another contest! Actually, it's more like a discussion. I'm making a pen name for myself, and I need ideas. Pen names are the things authors use when they are writing, to conceal their true identity. So yah, I need a first, middle, and last. I'm not saying I'm definitely going to use on of your guys's, but I'd love to see your ideas!**

Chapter 7- A Little 'Chat' About Life

Nova Northgale brushed the dust of her apron, and wiped her sweaty brow. It was a hot day, and the begonias she was tending was out in the hottest possible place. "Of course" she thought with an eye roll, "Wouldn't want the eight to be in the shade!"

It's not that she was complaining. This was one of her better jobs. It could have been worse. At least it wasn't kitchen duty again. She didn't think her stomach could handle that swill again. Just thinking about it made her queasy.

Nova finished her gardening work, and then stood up. She dusted her hands off and made her way towards the ugly gray building, with water stains all over it, and a peeling sign in front reading "Mrs. McClain's Home for Troubled Teens". Nova shuddered. She'd lived here for six months now, and that sign still scared her. Actually, it was a mixture of fear and hatred. What Nova would give to run up to the sign and destroy it with a sledgehammer.

Sadly, she lacked the supplies for that plan, like a sledgehammer and upper arm strength, but it was still a nice fantasy. Sometimes, Nova daydreamed about this, when she was out in the hot sun, or the other "troubled teens" picked on her. She would go to a place in her head, where the flowers bloomed brighter and smelled sweeter. There, castes didn't matter, and her sister would be back in her custody. No evil family of fours taking her away, on two month vacations. Just her and Wendy, braving the world together. A place where you could be whatever you wanted, with no numbers to hold her back.

But, eventually, Nova had to come back to reality. She was an eight, she lived in a foster home, and her darling little sister Wendy, had been taken away from her. And now she separated from her and couldn't take custody of her because she was "Wasn't responsible enough to handle legal custody if a child". And it was all because of him.

'Him' was a boy a few years older than her, with the name of Dakota Martin. He had seemed nice at first, for a five. He even walked her back to her foster home. A little arrogant, but well-meaning at least. But it all went downhill when she had mentioned her song journal.

Songs were the only way Nova could stand living. Music, and Wendy, were the only things important in her life. She had been writing songs in her journal for years now. Sometimes, it was the only thing she had. Nova wasn't exactly depressed, but it was sometimes hard to keep going. Everything was against you when you were an eight. No one and nothing to love you.

But when she wrote songs, she could imagine she was somewhere else. Someone else. All her worries went away, and she could be whoever she wanted. She was so proud of her journal. It was the only thing of value she had.

Until one day, it was nowhere to be found. She searched for days and days until she finally found it. Guess who had taken it. That's right, Dakota. That selfish, evil, horrible female dog! All he had been after was her notebook. He had never been her friend. So, she made up a plan for revenge.

She snuck into his house when he was gone, and grabbed it back. She was on her way out, when he walked into the house. He hit her over the head with a music stand, and she collapsed to the floor. He proceeded to tear her journal apart, and then throw it at her. She tried to escape with it, but then his parents came home. He faked crying, and lied about the whole thing. Long story short, she was sentenced to a year in jail for "stealing and violence". That jerk.

And that's how she had ended up here at the "Home For Troubled Teens". Or, as it was more often called, hell. It wasn't that Mrs. McClain was mean. She tried her hardest to make the teens feel better, but funding was low and the living conditions were horrible. Nova didn't even want to think of all the vermin that lived in the walls, and the diseases on the vermin, and ohhhh just ugh!

But, unlike the other teens, who were almost all boys, she had a way out! The letter, in a thick glossy envelope had found it's way to her. The Selection. She was eligible, even as an eight. And she was going to win.

Now Nova did NOT want to be princess. No no no! That was way too hard! No, she just wanted to make it into the Elite, so she could prove to those good-for-nothing government jerks she could take full custody. Getting into the Elite would show how responsible she was. Also, she would be a three, and Wendy could live the rest of her life in comfort.

So, with happy thoughts of her and her sister, she skipped into hell and began to fill out her form, sitting cross legged on the dirty, mud-caked floor to do so.

_Name: Nova Karlina Northgale _

_Age: 17 _

_Caste: 8_

_Province: Sumner_

_Skin Tone: Porcelain and fair_

_Hair Color: Crimson_

_Eye Color: Emerald, but fade to silver _

_Height: 5'8_

_Weight: 107 pounds_

_Languages Spoken: English, some Spanish_

_Hobbies: Singing, piano, hand to hand combat, reading, working with children_

After Nova finished her form, she got up, brushed herself off, and combed her hair. She figured Mrs. McClain wouldn't mind if she went into town for a few minutes. It was for a good cause, right!

She straightened her hair one last time, before she left, banging the door behind her. She made the short trip into town, skipping all the way. She smiled when she stood in line, waiting for her photo. Soon, her little sister would be able to come with her on errands like this.

"Soon" she thought to herself, "Sooner than anyone thought!"

And she smirked the entire way through the line. Those government jerks never knew what hit them.

**Hope you liked it!**

**~Zanzi**


	9. Chapter 8

**Hi All! I decided on a pen name! Yay! Thank you parisismydream for giving me an idea, even if I didn't use it. My pen name now is Winter Sky Grace, but you can still call me Zanzi if you want. Here's a short little chapter about Stella. I'm thinking about taking Sky out of the story... She's kinda hard to write for. I dunno, I may keep her.**

**I thought it would be cute to develop a little more of Stella's musical aspect, and so this is just a little song she sings when is in her room, after filling out the form. Not the longest, but sweet, because it expresses all the mixed up emotions she's feeling. I DID actually write the song too, so tell me what you think of it :D**

**No disclaimer, because I own everything in this chapter, seeing as I wrote the song. **

Chapter 8- Words that Stick

Stella stared out of her window as the sky darkened from day to night. She was sitting cross-legged on her bed, with the form for the Selection in hand. She knew she had to fill out the form, after telling that newscaster that she would, but she was feeling so confused. A thousand different thoughts and emotions were rushing through her brain. How could one person think so many thoughts.

There was a soft knock on the door, and Stella's father came looked in. "You ok, Stell?" He said in his 'I'm a little worried for your sanity' tone.

She faked a smile, "I'm fine, Dad. Just filling out this extremely long and boring form for the Selection."

Her dad chuckled. "Yah, it did seem rather long." He walked in and sat at the edge of her bed.

"Dad?" Stella suddenly felt the need to ask, "If I won the Selection, would you be proud of me?"

Stella's dad gave her a big hug. "Stella, if you married an eight in a alleyway, I would still be proud. But yes, if you became Princess, I would be very proud of you."

Tears of emotion welled up in Stella's eyes. "Thanks Dad" she whispered into his shoulder as she hugged him.

He kissed her lightly on the forehead. "You've always made me proud, Stell. And I know, you've made your mother proud, too." He pointed up at the heavens before walking out of the room, pulling the door softly shut after him.

Stella felt comforted that her dad would always be proud, but she still had all these thoughts catapulting through her head. If only there was someway to let them out, without screaming them at the top of her lungs.

"Maybe there is..." Stella thought, and she slid off her bed and walked to her closet. She pulled open the door, and in it found the only thing of monetary value in her whole room. Her acoustic guitar.

Stella carried her guitar back to the bed, and started strumming cords at random. This helped her think. She began to hum a little melody with it, and before she knew it, she had a song. It expressed everything she was feeling, simply and clearly. It was slow, and simple, but sounded beautiful in her high, clear voice.

"_Daylight's end_

_The sun's gone down_

_It's times like these_

_When I look around_

_I'm all alone_

_But that is fine_

_When I'm alone, I'm_

_Free to speak my mind_

_I think all these thoughts_

_All these wonderful things_

_But saying them out, is as hard_

_As flying without wings_

_I may not be brave_

_I may not be strong_

_But I do know things_

_I'm not letting on_

_I want to stand up_

_Simply, and shout_

_Let all of the words_

_Fall out of my mouth_

_But of course I cannot_

_I'm far to shy_

_The words don't come out_

_So I won't even try_

_I think all these thoughts _

_As I lay down in bed_

_The foolish thoughts are_

_The words I've never said_

_I want to be brave_

_I want to be strong_

_But I want to fit in_

_I need to belong_

_I'd tell you my thoughts _

_I promise I would_

_But these are the things_

_That I never could_

_If only I could let out_

_The words I've never said"_

Stella strummed the last cord in the song, before the lateness of the hour finally hit her. She put her guitar gently on the floor, and snuggled under her sheets. The song had helped, and now her head was pleasantly empty. She shut her eyes, and was asleep in an instant.

She had no idea that just outside the door, her father, who had his ear pressed to the door the whole song, had tears in his eyes.

**I know it was short, but I liked it. I hope you liked my song! Cast list comes out tomorrow! Excited! And nervous! *waves* See ya all next time!**


	10. Chapter 9

**Hello happy readers! This chapter is brought to you by me, who can't sleep because of a cold. Not cool germs, not cool! But, it introduces a cool new character, so yah, better than nothing. **

**Alright, in other news, I got a fictionpress account. So yah, if you want to go read one of my original stories, my book "Angels in Disguise" is up now. My username on that is Winter Sky Grace, cause I like to confuse you all. It's not finished, but I'll try to update soonish. It's a LOT easier to write fanfics then full on novels. But it's full of sass and cute boys, so if you want to check it out, you can ;) I mean, who doesn't love that combo. **

**Ok, so this is shadeslayerprincess's character. not going to be as awesome as her descriptions on mine, but you know. Still... if she wasn't so awesome I would look better in comparison. xD but I want an update!**

**I will try to update as frequently, but my school is requiring I take the PSAT this year for "practice", which is horrible and I'm going to die. I'm a freshman, so just taking geometry now. Pray for me people, pray for me!**

**Ok here's the next chapter! Yay!**

Chapter 9- Well, That Was a Thing

Miranda walked home in the early hours of the morning, yawning. The sun had barely come up, and she shivered in the brisk air. She pulled her ragged coat closer to her skin and tried to stay warm. She wished she had the money to take a cab, but she didn't make enough last night to afford it. Hence the walking.

It wasn't that long to get back to her house from the club, but it wasn't exactly the safest route. Drunks would stumble out of bars and lunge for her, and let's just there had been more than one occasion when she kicked someone in the nuts. Actually, that part was fun. Luckily, today everything was calm and quiet. Well, as quiet as a street like this got.

As she trekked, she thought about her night. Miranda danced at the night club for a living. She didn't make great money, but it was normal for a seven. So what if she was a little skinny?! That was better for a dancer anyway. Unfortunately, tonight the club had been almost empty. Less and less people had been coming this week, and Miranda thought she knew the reason why.

The Selection. It was the "big if" on everyone's mind right now. Miranda personally hated the Selection. It was all just a big beauty pageant. 35 idiot girls parading around in big poofy dresses, trying to win one rich, stuck up guy. How demeaning could you get?

Well, except for the fact that Miranda was planning to enter. She wasn't proud of it, but she needed the money. Her family had needs, and with the club paying the way it did, they were going to run out of money like that. What was a good daughter supposed to do? Sit back and watch her family starve to death? Miranda didn't think so.

And also, if she was truly honest with herself, it would be nice to make it to the Elite. She wouldn't want to marry the Prince, how dumb it would be to be a one, but a three would be cool. Then she could finally have enough to eat, and a nice place to sleep, and she wouldn't have to walk this scary path every night.

Miranda finally made it home after the 2 mile walk. She unlocked he door and let herself in before bolting it again. She tiptoed quietly into the small, 3 room house, trying not to disturb her mother and sister, who were sleeping in the one bedroom across the small hall. She speed walked into the kitchen and gasped when she saw a shadowing figure looming by the fridge.

Miranda did the only thing she could think of. She grabbed frying pan from the counter and hit him over the head with it. He collapsed to the floor, and she kicked him over to reveal the face of her father, Pete.

Miranda mentally kicked herself. That was going to take some explaining about when he woke up. Well, it's not like she cared about him anyway. The scumbag had more girlfriends than she had curls in her hair. Yet, he still felt it was ok to come back here, and basically rob them. The jerk. Miranda couldn't resist giving him a kick to the groin before she turned away.

Now, where was she. Oh yes, the form. She was eager to fill it out now, if only to escape from her dull, everyday life. There was the envelope, right on the old table where she had left it. She grabbed a pen from a nearby drawer, and began to fill out the form.

_Name: Miranda Marianne Mallory_

_Age: 19_

_Province: _

_Height: 5'10"_

_Weight: 115 pounds_

_Skin Tone: Somewhat tan, but fair_

_Hair Color: Dark brown_

_Eye Color: Gray_

_Languages Spoken: English, some Spanish and German._

_Skills: Singing, dancing, and having fun_

Miranda did a once over of form before sliding it back into the envelope. She yawned, and glanced over at her dad, still passed out on the floor. That was going to be a fun conversation. She giggled a little, before tiptoeing into the bedroom and quietly slipping into bed with her sister. First thing tomorrow, she would get her picture taken. Then, checking the clock on the wall, she realized it was 3 in the morning. So, it was already tomorrow. She smiled happily as she realized she actually could get 4 hours of sleep today. Finally, she got to sleep in! And, with that thought on her mind, she closed her eyes and was instantly asleep.

**Ta-da! There's chapter 9! Hope you like it!**


	11. Chapter 10

**Hi guys! It's another big, big, big day! I decided that Miranda's intro was my last intro chapter, and next time will be the reaping, wait, drawing. Had my mind on the Hunger Games. But yah, I just wanted to say get any last characters in, there's about 9 spots left. After that, I'm closing the SYOC part. **

**Now don't freak out if your character didn't get an intro chapter. It does not mean that she will be eliminated first. It just means that I didn't have the right inspiration at that time. Maybe I will give her an airplane chapter, or a makeover chapter. Also, I'm debating whether to let Stella fly on a plane or not. I think it would be hilarious to send her away from the palace just to send her back on an airplane. xD**

**So yep! Play practice starts tomorrow, and it's twice a week, so it may be harder for me to update. I'll try though, I'll try. I swear, I'll try xD. Please don't be mad at me. Also, if you want to reserve a custom scent for your characters, comment or PM it to me. Honestly, just make it up if you want. Thanks to shades for this idea, even if she doesn't realize that "Seaside" starts with a "S" not a "B". You rock shades, but I started laughing so hard at that blunder. **

**Ok, so I know we haven't heard a lot from the royal family, especially Maxon. I keep accidentally skipping him. I'm sorry! But today I'm going to give you a point of view from the royal, as they walk into the interview where the Selection will be drawn. Ok, here we go! Let the games begin, urg! Selection, not hunger games. I got this, I got this ;)**

Chapter 10- Royal Thoughts

~~~Maxon's POV~~~

Today's really the day. The next Selection, the next princess. Actually, the next Queen. Chase is the crown Prince after all.

It's hard to believe he's old enough for this. It seems like only yesterday that he was in diapers. Ok, well maybe two days ago. And now, he's about to meet the love of his life. I don't know whether to be nervous or happy for him. All I'm feeling right now is a little on edge. When America taps me on the shoulder, I jump.

"It's just me" she reassures.

"Is that supposed to help? I remember a few very violent incidents with you." I tease.

She laughs. "True. But you married me! If you had wanted quiet and naïve, I knew a certain girl you could have picked. Really, you have no one to blame but yourself."

She's right. But like it was under my control. You don't choose true love, it just happens. I poke her in the stomach playfully. "I wish my brain had been smarter. Then, I could have married someone with sense." I tease.

She hits me on the shoulder, gently. Yah, I did sort of deserve that. She's pretending to glare at me.

"I could have married anyone of you. And I chose the one who kneed me in the groin on the first day." I sigh dramatically.

She chuckles. "I don't know. I bet Celeste would have given me a run for my money." Her face darkens a little as she thinks of her friend. I wrap her in a hug, and she buries her head in my chest. She looks up at me with a sad look. "I miss her Maxon."

"I know, I know" I sooth, "But c'mon, happy face. Maybe her long lost cousin or sister will be in Chase's selection."

She tries glaring, but can't hold in a laugh. "Wouldn't that be ironic." She rolls her eyes at me.

And then together, hand in hand, we leave my room, and make our way to the interview room. I just hope Chase is doing better than I was at this time.

~~~Chase's POV~~~

I walk through the hallways down to the interview room, my hands clenched into fists. Get it together, Chase, get it together. They're just girls. Even if there's 35 of them, and some of them may hate my guts, they're just girls.

Oh, who am I kidding. I'm terrified. One of these girls is supposed to be my future wife! What if I hate them all? What if they're all horrible? What is they like kick me in the groin when I try to shake their hands? Ok, I'm sure no one has ever done that. At least I'm safe on that count.

I'm still trying to clear my head of all these thoughts when my little sister runs, wait slides, down the hall in her new shoes. She looses her balance halfway through the slide and smacks straight into me. Great, as if I wasn't having a bad enough day.

"Lizzie, watch where your going!" I shout at her. It was probably louder than necessary, but I didn't care. She picked the wrong time to annoy me.

"I did! I just didn't go where I was going! Duh!"

I rolled my eyes. Classic excuses by Lizzie. She's only 12, so basically everyone loves her. Except me. She just gets on my nerves.

"You're grumpy today, Chasey!"

"Don't call me Chasey! And I'm not grumpy!"

"Grumpy, grumpy, grump" she chants as she jumps around me in a circle.

"You're such a pest! Go bother someone else!" I scream at her.

She stops chanting abruptly and starts to cry. "Oh, Lizzie I didn't mean that! I'm sorry!"

Lizzie continued to sob. I gave her a hug, but she pushed me away. "Go away you big meanie."

I try again, and finally she doesn't run away. "Lizzie, I'm sorry. I'm just a little on edge right now."

She sniffs dramatically, but stops crying. "I forgive you." she says in a tired voice.

"Good. Now let's go to the Report. I can be late to see this." I say.

"Ok!" she chirps, perfectly happy now. She grabs my hand and slides down the hall.

"Wait!" I scream "Not THAT fast!"

**Awww! I thought this chapter was adorable. So fun to write. See, Chase isn't all jerkish. Just most of him xD. I have a few girls lined up to teach him a lesson. Mostly, I'm looking at Stella (duh), Miranda, Nova, and a few others to kinda go at it. Although I still haven't decided if I want someone to use physical violence. I'm thinking either Josie (coffee girl) or Miranda (do NOT give her a frying pan). **

**As always, comment, favorite, and follow! And submit OCs! Still need 8!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Hi peoples of the Earth! Or mars! Or wherever your reading this from! Here it is, the chapter you've all been waiting for. The Selection. Thank you to all the people who submitted new OCs, especially **majestictales**, who managed to submit an awesome OC and survive her first year of college. Good luck girl! **

**Well, I'm pretty sure no ones reading right now because they are probably skipping to where the names are going to be drawn. That's me, for sure. Although, I do read authors notes usually, except for a few occasions where I'm in a break between classes and need to read the story like now. **

**Dramas been super fun. I totally didn't realize we had rehearsals Wednesday too, silly me. But, I'll try to update! I swear! History class has probably been the most exciting. Some kid had a seizure and they had to call 911. He's going to be ok, but it was kind of scary. I've never really had a seizure, but I do pass out a lot. Like in choir, last year. That was fun story. ^_^**

**Ok, let's do this thing guys! Actually, I think everyone who reads this is a girl... Still!**

Chapter 11- Name Calling for a Good Cause

~~~Chase's POV~~~

Ohhh goodness! This is it! The camera crew counts down from ten, and then we will be on air. This is it. No matter if I love these girls, or hate them, they will be coming. Like an alien invasion or something. I can imagine the title of that movie. "Alien Invasion: Attack of the Women". Ok, maybe not that good, but still.

They reach one and the camera light flicks on. We're live. All of the countries are probably watching. Great, they can see my reaction to the girls. Good!

The other current events pass quickly. There's no wars right now, and pretty much the entire country is zoning everything out. After about 5 minutes, Gavril says "Alright Illea! We know your all excited to find out who's been selected. All of your wonderful daughters are probably very excited, so I'll try to wrap up this speech quick. But before we can try, how about a word from the man of the hour, Prince Chase, himself."

The audience applauded and Gavril almost runs over to me. "So, Prince Chase, how are you feeling right now? If you could some it up in one word, what would it be? Happy, excited, giddy?"

I spit out the first word that comes to mind. "Mainly jut nervous".

Gavril gives a hearty, totally fake smile. "Awww! Isn't he cute folks" he says like I'm about 4.

My face goes beet red. Lizzie starts to laugh, and I kick her in the shin. She glares at me, but then turns around to face the audience, giving them a dazzling smile. I'm sure all of Illea is probably "awwing" at her. She's defiantly the royal favorite, with her red curls and big blue eyes.

Gavril's speaking again. "Alright, without anymore interruption, here's the 35 Illean daughters! And they are."

The screen flashes on, and all the cameras zoom on it. The girls picture will pop up, and Gavril will read the name and caste of each. The provinces go in a specific order, but I cannot for the life of me remember what it is. Not alphabetical... Ehhh. All that matters is the girls, right?! And then, I'm shaken out of my thoughts as Gavril reads the first name.

"Alright! The first lovely girl is Miss Lucille Holly Green, a two from Carolina. She comes from the same province Queen America came from, so we wish her luck!" A picture of a petite girl comes up, and I relax a little because at least she doesn't look like she wants to kill me. I don't smile yet, though.

"Jean Lousie Finch, four, from Dominica". A dark haired, sort of country girl pops up on the screen. She smiles, but looks a little bored.

"Miss Lillian Paige Luna, a six from Yukon". A girl with dark curls beams at me, and looks so friendly that start breathing normally. "Look at that smile folks! What a sweetheart!"

"Next, from Lakedon, we have Sabrina Eliza Rose, two" Gavril says with a smile. Sabrina is really pretty, but she looks a little nervous. I don't really blame her though.

"Now, Hannah Skylar Rosemary, a three from Otterio joins our party!" A petite red head is caught mid-laugh. I almost smiled, but it was mostly wondering what she was laughing about.

"From Baffin, we have Miss Kamri McGrove. She's a cadet in the Illean military folks! Impressive!"

"And next up from Calgary, we have a real French dame, little Miss Macelyn Amelia Chevalie, " I finally smile at the light brown haired girl. She's gorgeous, and her brown eyes have a warmth to them.

But my smile falls when I see the next girl, Riley Millie Greeves, the four from Deighburry. She is a very scary looking girl. Her eyes look murderous. I shudder a little.

"From Pamama, Caitlin Nicole Gunderson, three." An ordinary brown haired girl looks friendly enough, but not exactly exciting.

"From St. George, Adelie Mitchell, four."

"A five from Belcourt, Regan Piper Lousie."

"Ahhhh! A well-known face from Midston! Miss Alaska Rose Kendell, a two" The pretty jockey from those magazines Lizzie likes looks a little haughty, but her smile is generally friendly. I smile for the first time. I kinda like her.

"Ohh, and hear comes our very own capital province, Angeles! Our own girl is Stella Lily Hanson, a six! My, my, my. She's very pretty!" I can hear Lizzie cheering, and I smile a little. She IS pretty, with those violet eyes. I'm just not sure how she ended up in the Selection. I can tell my parents like her though, they're smiling at each other.

"From Bonita, Zoey Pamela Holstein, three."

"From Whites, Hana Eunice Kim, three"

The names start to join together, but I try my best to pay attention. So. Many. Girls.

"Christine Rose Coulson from Bankston, a four". She's pretty. I smile again.

"From Fennely, Josephine Maxfield, six". I chuckle at the expression on Josephine's face. She's in between a laugh and scowl. She also looks proud of herself, like she just poured coffee on someone.

"From Labrador, we have Miss Victoria Lynn Scotts."

"From Sumner, we have... WAIT! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a game changing new event! The first eight ever to be chosen in the history of the Selection! Meet, Miss Nova Karlina Northgale! What a special young lady!" An eight! Really!

"Ok, moving on, we have Anneylse Karienne Paul, a three from Honduraga." She's ok looking, not stunning, but still. She looks smart, and serious.

"From Hundson, we have another Josephine. Josephine Mary Stewart. She's a six"

"And from Likely, we have little Miss Lucilla Beatris Keane, another three."

"Next, from Allens, we have Fern Alyssa Thompson, a two." Fern, that's a pretty name.

"Sofa gives us another two, Miss Aspen Brooklyn Dane! We wish her luck." I like Aspen, but she looks a little mean.

"From Columbia, Angel-Lynn Joy Reid, three"

"From Dakota, Mary Jo Morsoe, five."

"From Sonahe, Annabelle Sarah Parker, five." I smile again. I like her a lot.

"Tammins- We have Lizeth Kate Perkins, a seven." Sorta plain, and she's using the wrong spray tan!

"A familiar face from Clermomt, Miss Celine Arianna Winchester, a two."

"From Paloma, we have Kathrine Jane Bennett, a five."

"Only few more left. Next we have Zuni, where the Illean daughter is Grace Emmaline-Rose Pryce, six" Pretty, but not my style.

"Waverly gives us the stunning Miranda Marianne Mallory, a seven." Ohhh! I like her! She's pretty! I mean, for a seven.

"I'm Hansport, we have Alyssa Ferrer." She's nice enough, I guess.

"And last but not least, we have Atlin. Miss Skyla Marie Grace, a five, is a looker isn't she." A pretty blond girl with curls and big blue eyes smiles, a little shyly. Pretty though, and looks kind.

"Well, that's all folks! Cheer for this years Illean daughters! Wish them all luck!" Gavril declares. And then the Report ends.

I walk back to my room in silence. All those girls were nice enough, but I didn't really feel drawn to any of them. Some of them scarred me, like Riley. Others I was ok with, like Stella and Anneylse. And then, there was three I liked a lot. Alaska is pretty, and has a warm smile. Miranda looks like she's fun, even if she is a seven. And Nova. She may be an eight, but she looks like she has a good sense of humor.

I'm so tired. I get to my room, and collapse on my bed. And within a few minutes, I'm fast asleep.

**Soooooo, how'd you like it? I did change a few castes, so sorry about that. I may have spelled names wrong, but I tried soooo hard to get them right! Please, PM me if there's something wrong, and I'll change it. As always, favorite, follow, and review! Thanks! **


	13. Authors Note 2

**Authors Note #2**

**Hi! Sorry, this isn't a new chapter, but I'm just dividing characters into main, supporting, and background. I'm sorry, I love all of your characters, but they can't all be leads. For main characters, I choose the best descriptions sent in by PM or commented. Supporting were ones I liked, and background ones are ones I created to fill space, or ones who had very little description. **

**Congrats to all of you, and thanks for submitting!**

**Main Characters (Probably the Elite, but I'm not sure):**

**Miranda**

**Alaska**

**Stella**

**Nova**

**Josie**

**Celine**

**and**

**Maci**

**Supporting Characters (Mentioned, but don't have as many POVs):**

**Aspen**

**Fern**

**Regan**

**Lizeth**

**Aspen**

**Grace**

**Anneylse**

**Katherine**

**Lucilia**

**and**

**Kamri**

**Everyone not on either of the two lists is a background character. I'm sorry, but I just did not have enough info to write for her. If you send me more info, I am looking for one or two girls more girls for supporting roles. I'm considering moving either Anneylse or Aspen up, so I'm going to need more! **

**Also, here's the people riding on the airplane together. I'm going to do three chapters, I think. Also, if your character is a main/supporting chapter, and they don't have an airplane chapter, I'll try to give them a part in a makeover chapter! I also decided not to let Stell ride on a plane, but she'll get a makeover though. **

**Airplane 1:**

**Skyla**

**Josie**

**Miranda**

**Nova**

**Airplane 2:**

**Celine**

**Aspen**

**Maci**

**Anneylse **

**Airplane 3:**

**Lizeth**

**Regan**

**Fern**

**Katherine**

**Ok! I know some of you will be thrilled to read this, others ok, and some who hate my guts. I'm sorry if you don't like it, but if you have a background character, send me more info and I may bump them. I'm only taking one or two though! Thank you all for being amazing people and following, favoriting, and reviewing. You all rock! I'll try to get a real chapter done soon!**


	14. Chapter 12

**Hi! This is not going to be an airplane chapter, but it focuses on some send offs and limo rides. The girls on it are Sky, Josie, and Miranda. Lots of different castes, so it was super fun to write. Some of Josie and Miranda's dialogue was the best, as they come from lower castes than Sky. Also, they're more violent! xD The next chapter will either be an airplane chapter, or send offs for a few other characters. Not sure yet. This one I wrote because I had the idea, and it was hilarious.**

**Also, thanks to parade for pointing out a flaw. I had totally forgotten to put her character on the list, but know all is well! Hehehe, oops. I thought I missed a name! Also definitely read **shadeslayerprincess111**'s, **theYAfangirl17**'s, and **magictales**'s SYOC stories! They're way better than mine! Cheer on Grace and Mackenzie (actually, just Gracie, Mak's a jerk) in **shades**'s, Luna in **YAfangirls**'s, and Lizeth in **magictales**'s! **

**Also, there's a song in this chapter too! Sky's singing it for her send off. I wrote this one also, but I only spent about 15 minutes on it, so it's not as good. But still, I tried!**

**Alright, I know most of you skipped this A/N anyway, so let's get on with the story!**

Chapter 12- Send Offs Ahoy

Josie had a bad habit of playing with her hair when she got nervous. This is why, by the time she reached the square where her send off would be, her hair had lost all the perfect curls she put into it, and now was just wavy. And frizzy. Oops

Of course Josie was nervous. Everyone would be. But she wished someone would talk to her, even explain what she was going to do. Was she expected to give a speech? Sign autographs? Tap dance? Honestly, she didn't even know. No one had told her anything. The limo driver, who had introduced himself as Micheal, hadn't spoken a word to her since she had gotten into the limo

"Sooooo..." Josie said, sick of the silence, "Nice weather we've been having". Michael didn't even look back

Josie leaned forward through the window, so she could see him more clearly. "Any traffic today? It would suck to be late."

Michael glanced at her through the rearview mirror, but still didn't speak. "Oooookkkkk then! How 'bout a joke? What did one ocean say to the other ocean? Nothing! It just waved!" Josie giggled, but he didn't even crack a smile. "Oh c'mon! That was funny". No response.

"Today, instead of underwear, I covered my crotch with potato salad. Thoughts?" Not even a smile.

Josie leaned back a little. This was going to be a long drive

-=-Line Break-=-

Skyla stood on the stage, trembling. She had never been in front of so many people before. She was a 5, and she was used to being in the background. She had been told to do something special for her send off, and she clutched the paper she had written to her heart. Her heart was racing. Was this what it felt to be the center of attention?

"And now, Lady Skyla Marie Grace has a special treat for us!" the mayor says, "Let's give her a hand!"

The audience cheers wildly as Sky steped onto the stage and takes the microphone. "Hi everyone!" she says in a shy voice. "Thank you for coming to send me off! It means a lot to me."

"Ahhh! Miss Skyla! How kind of you to say! I hear you have a surprise for us."

Sky blushed, "Ummm, yes! I thought, well I'm a five, so maybe they would expect me to do something with music. So, I wrote you a song. It's called 'Warrior'"

The crowd cheered louder, but then quieted as Sky took a deep breath and begins to sing.

"You see me walking the halls.

You think I'm nothing at all

Unheard, unnoticed, unseen

But that's not what my silence means

One look

And you think I'll break

But one shot

Is all it'll take

So if you wanna challenge me

A fight is what your gonna see

'Cause I'm a warrior

I don't back down

I'm a warrior

And I'll take the crown

Don't underestimate me

You don't know just where I've been

I'm a warrior

I'll survive and I'll win

So if you want to take me on

Better hope that you stay strong

'Cause I'm a warrior

I don't back down

I'm a warrior

And I'll take the crown

Don't underestimate me

You don't know where I've been

I'm a warrior

I'll survive and I'll win

And I just don't care if you

Love me or hate me

It ain't gonna break me

I will survive on my own

(softly and carefully sung)

'Cause I'm a warrior

I don't back down

I'm a warrior

And I'll take the crown

I'm a warrior

I choose fight, and not flight

I'm a warrior

I'll finish the fight

I'm a warrior

You don't know where I've been

I'm a warrior

I'll survive and I'll win

I'm a warrior

I'm a warrior

Warrior..."

There's a moment of silence, and then the screaming starts.

-=-Line Break-=-

Miranda had never seen so many people. Even in the club, there had never been this many. And they all wanted something from her. Autographs, handshakes, hugs even! Hadn't these people heard of a personal bubble?!

Whatever. Miranda was so happy to be out of this province. Leaving her life and horrible father behind. No more accusing stares from her mother. It's all behind her now. For now, she was a three. Hmmm... if she made it to the Elite, and stayed a three, what field would she go into? Teaching maybe. She liked kids, when they weren't snotting all over her. Now if only there was a class where she could teach people to hit others with frying pans. That would be a dream come true.

She readjusted the daisy in hair, and shook more hands, hugged strangers, and posed for about a thousand pictures. At one point, she thought she had even kissed a baby. Weird! She sorta zoned out as the mayor gave the parting speech. It wasn't the most exciting. Yata yata she will be missed yata yata wish her luck yata yata. Classic old people going away speech. She was daydreaming of ice cream when she say him in the crowd. Her ex-fiance, Ryan Daniels.

Her mind raced. How dare he show up right now! What was he even doing here? Was this going to be one of these stupid 'I want you back' speeches. Darn, where was a frying pan when she needed one!

After hours and hours (read: about 10 minutes) of boring, the speech finally ended. Miranda speed-walked to the limo that would take her to the airport. But, she wasn't fast enough. She had almost made it to the car, when Ryan broke through the crowd and pulled her back.

"What are you doing here!?" Miranda yelled as she tried to pull away from him.

"I came to tell you that I was an idiot! Losing you was the worst mistake of my life!" Ryan held fast to her hand.

"Let GO of me!" Miranda shouted through gritted teeth.

"Not until you here me out" he said, and grabbed her other hand and pulled, so she was facing him.

"Miranda," Ryan started, as if he was giving her a lecture, "You were the best thing in my life. I shouldn't have ever let you go. It was the worst mistake of my life. But, I'm here now. I'm asking for forgiveness. I'm a changed man! And I'm ready to settle down."

Miranda wasn't sure what she was expecting, but when he got down on one knee, it sure as heck wasn't what happened next.

"Miranda Mallory, will you marry me?" Ryan asked, holding her hand and down on one knee

The crowd let out a huge gasp, and then hushed. Not a single person was talking. All eyes were trained on Miranda. She was just as shocked as they were, though! She hadn't seen Ryan in well over a year, and now he asks her to marry her! What was a girl supposed to say to that?!

Really, there was only one thing she could do. She gently pulled her hand from him, placed it on her heart, and spit right in his face. The crowd laughed and applauded as Miranda mock curtsied to Ryan, and sashayed into the limo, slamming the door right in his ugly, currently spit-filled face.

"Ohhhh yah!" Miranda thought, "I'm awesome!"

**Hope y'all liked it! Please review, favorite, and follow! Love you all! And tell me what you thought about this song! I'd love some pointers!**


	15. Chapter 13

**Hello all! I'm sitting here bored. We got free time in history, so I figured I'd write! And now, I just finished an essay, so I wanted to write something fun. Yay! I wanted to follow up on the first airline chapter, so this is about the same characters: Josie, Sky, and Miranda, but I'm also throwing Maci into the mix. If she didn't add a little calm to the mix, I'm not sure everyone would make it.**

**Ok, here we go! This was such a fun chapter to write! Let's do this! Also, I have NO idea if Carrie Underwood is pregnant or not, but I heard a rumor, so I used it. I WANT it would be true **

Chapter 13- Awkwardness in the Air

Sky arrived second to the airport. So many people had mobbed her after she sang that it had taken 20 minutes just for her to make it to the limo, but apparently the other 2 girls were having an even harder time. She raced into the airport before the limo had even stopped. She was suddenly glad she hadn't worn high heels as she bolted through security, the driver on her heels.

She only stopped running when she was walking down the gangway. She caught her breath and wiped her brow before she walked into the airplane.

She paused in the doorway, but barely had time to see the pristine aircraft interior before something pounced on her. It took her a moment to realize that something was a person hugging her. "Someone's friendly!" she had time to think.

The girl pulled back after a moment and smiled. She had light brown hair, an tons of freckles covering her face. She was tall and slight, but had an aura of someone who knew how to get what she wanted. Her high cheek bones indicated power, and gave her a little bit of a haughty expression. Her brown eyes were warm though, and twinkled.

"Hi! I'm Macyn or Maci, if you prefer. I'm a three from Calgary." Maci had a very slight French accent, but it went well with her appearance. She looked so much like a lady.

Sky smiled too. Maci was so friendly, it was hard to keep herself in a neutral position. Besides, she really didn't come to marry the Prince, just to pay Aiden's medical school bills. She shouldn't think of these girls as competition, should she?

"Hi! I'm Skyla, but you can call me Sky. Everyone does. My province is Atlin, and I'm a five."

"Ohhhh! I love your name!" Maci gushed, and Sky knew instantly they would be friends.

"Thanks! I like your accent!" Sky replied, hoping it wouldn't offend her.

Maci just laughed, though. She wasn't at all offended by Sky's comment. She took Sky's hand and led her back to the seat she had claimed near the front of the airplane. The two girls chartered for a while, talking about movies they'd seen, actors they thought were cute, and how excited they were for the Selection.

"Hey, did you hear Carrie Underwood is going to have a baby?" Maci asked, bouncing up in down in her chair.

"Seriously! That's awesome news!" Sky squealed.

"What is?" a new voice said from the entrance of the aircraft. Another of the Selected stood in the doorway. This girl was tall, and had brown hair dyed with bright turquoise streaks. Her dark eyes were friendly, and she had a slight smile on her face, as if she was about to start laughing at anytime.

"What is?" the girl repeated, sliding into the chair in front of Sky and Maci. "I'm Josie, by the way, a six, from Fennley." She collapsed on the chair like she just run about 5 miles.

Maci giggled. "Oh, just that Carrie Underwood is pregnant!"

Josie sat up. "Really!? Yay! OMG that's amazing! It's like the best news I've heard all week!"

Sky laughed. "Yes, it comes AFTER being Selected to marry the crown Prince."

Josie facepalmed. "Oh yah! That was pretty cool too!"

All the girls started giggling, and Sky was glad it wasn't as awkward as she had thought it was going to be. Josie and Maci seemed really nice, and good to be friends with.

"So, how did your guys's send offs go?" Sky asked the two girls.

Josie laughed again. "The send off was fine! It was the limo ride from hell that was torture!" She mock pouted.

Maci smiled. "Do tell!"

"The limo driver wouldn't talk to me at ALL! I tried everything! I told him my crotch was covered in potato salad and he didn't even blink!" Josie complained.

Both Maci and Sky doubled over in laughter. "How would that even work?" Sky asked. "Scratch that, I don't want to know."

"However it works, I'm glad I'm not her maid!" a new girl said. She stood leaning against the doorway, wearing a slightly bored expression. Sky got up and stretched out her hand to the girl, but she didn't shake it.

"I'm Sky. And you are?" said Sky, lowering her hand back to her side.

"I'm Ground, then." the girl said, with no amusement.

Sky blushed a little. "I meant my NAME is Sky. It's short for Skyla."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Oh Hon', I know. I'm not stupid." Then she walked away and sat at the very back of the plane.

"Okkkkk then..." Sky said, shrugging. She made her way back to her seat by Maci.

"What's up with her?" Maci asked, nodding in the girls direction.

Josie shrugged, "No idea! I think her names Miranda, though. She's the girl from Waverly."

"Let's not even bother with her." Maci said.

"Hon' I can hear you! I'm a seven, but I'm not deaf."

Maci blushed and shrunk in her seat a little, but Josie stood up.

"Just who do you think you are!" Josie growled. Maci and Sky looked at each other. This was going to get ugly.

"Ummm... I'm me, duh! Who else would I be!?" Miranda rolled her eyes.

Josie batted her eyelashes innocently. "Ohhh! Sorry! I thought 'stupid annoying person was an act'!"

Miranda glared, "Better than being a smurf."

Josie lunged at Miranda, but Sky and Maci pulled her back.

"Don't! You'll get in trouble!" Sky murmured, pulling Josie back to ER seat.

"Yah, she's not worth it!" Maci said audibly enough for Miranda to hear.

"I heard you again Sweetheart."

Maci smiled sweetly. "You were meant to!"

Miranda's expression slackened for a second, but then came back stoney than before. "You just watch your back! You don't want me as an enemy!"

Josie sat back in her seat, mumbling something that sounded like, "Got plenty of those." Maci picked up a magazine and began to read, and Miranda started looking out the window.

Sky sat back in her chair, as the plane took off. "So much for it not being awkward!" she thought.


	16. Chapter 14

**Hi! I'm excited to update so fast! That was like, only 12 hours or something. Yay! So, per a request from 4Love4Love4, I'm going to introduce new characters. I was planning too anyway, but whatevs. Today's chapter will reintroduce Nova and Celine, and we'll get to meet Annylese and Aspen. Hehehe, I didn't even plan the A thing. **

**Alright are y'all ready! Or, wait, y'all is for less than three people, and I really hope more than three people read this. How about are all y'all ready!?**

Chapter 14- SouthBEST Airlines

Celine got to the airport first. She had had a nice send off. Lots of her fans from the gymnastic world had showed up, but were sad to find out she had injured herself. Well, at least the cast was off.

Celine walked down the gangway, and made her way to a seat in the back of the plane. She immediately closed the window, and tried not to look outside. As hard as it was to admit, Celine was terrified of flying. Not that she was going to admit it to anyone. She was perfect, in everyone's mind.

She waited for the other Selected for around ten minutes until the first girl showed up. The girl stood awkwardly in the doorway, as if waiting for instructions. She smiled at Celine, and gave a little wave.

"Hi! I'm Nova!" the girl said sweetly, and crossed the threshold into the plane.

"Like I care about eights" Celine said, rolling her eyes. The girl recoiled and her smile dropped. Celine felt a little bad, but she didn't apologize. It was Nova's fault if she got upset. Nova crossed to the other side of the airplane and played with the Tiger Lilly in her hair.

Celine pulled the window open, and looked at the people loading baggage into the airplane. "Already so high," Celine sighed, "And we're not even off the ground yet."

"Scared of heights?" Nova asked in a quiet voice.

"Who said you could talk to me!?" Celine yelled at the girl.

"Ohhh cat fight." A different voice joked.

The next girl stood in the doorway. A tall, model-like girl stood in the doorway. She strode into the plane and took a seat next to Celine.

"I'm Aspen," the girl introduced, "A two."

Celine smiled. This girl knew what she was doing. "Celine, a two as well."

Nova called from the back, "I'm Nova!" Both the girls ignored her.

The last girl entered the airplane about 5 minutes later. She introduced herself as Annelyse, but didn't say anything else. She sat down in a seat next to Nova an began to read a magazine.

"Sooooo..." Nova said. "Everyone looking forward to the Selection?"

No one answered.

"Ok." Nova sighed. "Prince Chase is pretty cute though!"

Annelyse giggled a little, but no one else spoke.

"Ok, awkward silence it is." Nova said.

Annelyse whispered to Nova. "Hey, they're be plenty of time to talk when we get to the palace. I think everyone needs this time to relax."

Nova nodded. That seemed reasonable. So, for the rest of the flight she looked out the window and watched the trees go by.

**Sorry it's so short, but I just wanted to get the chapter, but I just wanted to publish it! :) Comment, favorite, and follow! **


	17. Chapter 15

**Hello happy reader! Hehehe, I just quoted my bio teacher (the BEST bio teacher ever), and I'm not even sure of all of you are happy. But, now you have a new chapter, so of course you are! :) The story has over 3,000 views now so, I totally didn't scream my head off excitedly and scare my cat out of its mine. Nope, I didn't do any of that. None!**

I'm going to do a few shout outs. I've been forgetting to do them, so I'm going to do a few people who have stood out to me.

4Love4love4- **She's AMAZING! She comments within like 10 minutes of every chapter posted. I love it! She also has awesome ideas and recognizes my puns. She liked my corny SouthBEST airlines pun. Wins Alaska some serious points... just saying. Even if she did say my character was a BIT too perfect in shade's story. Gracie's sweet and all, but what was sorta being implied in that cbapter was that she may not be the brightest bulb. xD**

shades**- AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING! She's always supporting me! Even though I'm 13 and a pretty horrible writer, I can count on her. She makes Gracie and Mackenzie look so much better than I would have. Although, she won't let me marry Prince Ethan, even though he's pretty much the hottest guy ever. **

Pentatonix**- Ok, yes. This amazing a Cappella band isn't reading my stories, BUT it would be amazing if they were xD. I owe all my work to them, seeing as I listened to "Wizard of Ahhhs" and "Problem" basically nonstop.**

Nova (Guest)**- Thanks for always commenting on my works! You rock girl!**

**Ok, I'm grateful to everyone else, these were just a few who stood out most clearly. Better start on the story! xD This chapter is going to introduce 3 NEW characters! Yay! And Alaska makes a comeback. Because, let's face it, she's a pretty awesome OC!**

Chapter 15- Wicked Witch of Belcourt

Alaska tapped her foot impatiently, while sitting in a seat at the terminal. She had arrived right on time to the airport, but had told that the plane she and the other Selected would be riding in was "Being Cleaned". Alaska had rolled her eyes at this. Clearly, they just were incompetent at their jobs. Then again, they were sixes. How good of a job could they do?

After five more minutes of waiting on the uncomfortable, plastic seat, Alaska got up and walked to the check-in desk. The flight manager was doing something on his computer, and didn't see her approach. She slammed her palms on the desk, making a very loud "BANG" sound. The flight manager jumped about a foot in the air, and his glasses fell off. They landed on the floor, but he looked a little to scared to pick them off, in case Alaska was going to hit him. In her present mood, she might.

"When am I going to be allowed in this stupid plane!" she asked, in a sweet, polite tone, which everyone could tell was fake.

The flight manager, whose nametag read 'Jeffrey', stumbled a little. "Uhh, m'am. It is under maintenance but you can board as soon as the crew is done."

Alaska slammed her hands down again, and Jeffery looked like he was about to wet himself. "Do you know who I am!" she screamed at him. Everyone in the airport started looking at her, and she back down a little.

Jeffery stuttered, "Yes m'am, I do. If you'll please just take a seat, I will go check on the crew." He pulled open the door the gangway, and ran down it as fast as his legs could carry him.

Alaska flopped back on her seat, and played with the Azalea in her hair. _Such an ugly flower_, she thought. She was thinking about all the prettier flowers she could of had, when a high, nazily voice interrupted her.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE! WHY CAN I NOT BOARD!" the girl's voice screamed at the top of her lungs.

Alaska looked to see a tall, willowy girl, obviously another of the Selected, screaming at Jeffery. The girl was wearing the same black pants and white shirt as Alaska was, but she had accessorized with red Stilettos and enough makeup to cover Alaska for a month. The girl had obviously had a nose job or two, and her eyebrows were fixed in a very unnatural manner. Her dark eyes gave the impression that she considered herself above everyone. All in all, the girl scared Alaska.

The girl finished her screaming fit, and then flopped in the seat next to Alaska, who recoiled a little. Was evilness contagious? The girl looked Alaska up and down, before deciding she was worth her time.

"What's your name?" the girl said abruptly, "And caste"

Alaska coughed, "I'm Alaska, a two from Midston."

"Hmmm..." the girl said, and then turned her back on Alaska.

Alaska tried to put names and faces together, but for the life of her, couldn't figure out who this girl was. Or thought she was! Alaska was relieved when she say the two other Selected girls walking up to the gate. One was around medium height, with raven black hair, the other petite, with ginger curls.

The redhead beamed at Alaska and stuck out her hand, "Hi!" she smiled, "You're Alaska right!"

Alaska shook it, glad to have someone friendly. "Yes! And your Lizeth right? The three from Tammins?"

The girl, Lizeth nodded, beaming. "Yep! You can call me Lizy though, everyone does. You're a two right? I've seen you on magazines before. You're so pretty!"

Alaska blushed a little, and thought that maybe she and Lizy could be friends. "Thank you! That's really nice."

Lizy laughed, "Well, it's true. You're also much nicer than other twos." she nodded at the black haired girl she had walked in with. "That's Fern. She's a brat!"

Alaska giggled. "Then you obviously haven't little miss sunshine over there" and she jabbed her finger at the scary girl, who had resumed screaming at poor Jeffery.

Lizy gasped, "Oh my gosh! That's Regan!"

Alaska was puzzled. "Do you know her?"

"No, but my father was her Latin teacher in highschool. She's a real female dog, if you catch my drift. Once, she tried to attack him. Hurled the textbook at his face when he told her one of the facts was wrong on her homework. He ran out the door and never came back."

Alaska was taken aback. Why would someone even do that!

"Ok, so we'll watch out for the Wicked Witch of Bellcourt!" Alaska declared.

Lizy giggled, "Well, let's just hope she doesn't have any flying monkeys around, listening on our conversation."

Jeffery announced the maintenance crew had finished the work on the plane, and that the girls were allowed to board now. Fern and Regan both grabbed their stuff immediately and almost raced down the gangway, as if trying to get there before the other.

Lizy shook her head and mumbled something that sounded a lot like, "Some people!".

Alaska smirked. "Well, maybe they'll kill each other off and then we can get the best seats."

Lizy smiles too. "Where's a bucket of water when you need it!?"

Alaska doubled over in laughter. "And, those shoes Regan has look an awful lot like Ruby slippers. Maybe, we just need to crash a house on her?"

Lizy raised her hand, "DIBS!"

Alaska mock pouted. "Maybe, we can talk to our cowardly lion!" she said, nodding at Jeffery.

Lizy linked her arm through Alaska's. "C'mon! The yellow brick road awaits!"

"Better warn the pilot to watch out for twisters!" Alaska cackled.

And linking arms, the two girls walked into the airplane, for a long flight to the palace. At least, they had each other!

**Good night guys, and thanks for reading!**


	18. Chapter 16

**Hi everyone! It's me, again. I know you were all really hoping for someone else, but at least for this chapter, you have me. This chapter is going to be fairly long, as it describes Chase's reaction to all the girls. And, yes, it is based off an idea of shades (omg, Wes was so cute in that chapter), but I had a different idea also. But, I'll put a disclaimer anyway. Lizzie's in this chapter too, so you'll get to see her! :) I know a lot of you like her! **

**Disclaimer: This idea was loosely based off an idea shades had, but I only used it as an opportunity to show all the girls, and Chase's reaction. So, thank you shades!**

Chapter 16- Too! Many! GIRLS!

Chase sort of wanted to cry. Why, why WHY did there have to be so many girls? Could he just eliminate the ugly ones? Did he have to meet them all? What if they hated him? Well, he was pretty incredible, but still. There was always that one weird girl.

His mother and father had given him the stack of 35 forms this morning. He was supposed to "Go over them". What was this, a horse race? Chase wasn't even sure anymore.

But, he decided, he did not want to disappoint his parents more than once this week. His mother could have quite the temper when she wanted too. Chase decided to suck it up and look over the stack of forms. So, he sat at his desk and did all his work without any distractions. Right?

WRONG!

Literally the second he sat down at his desk, his little sister Lizzie skipped into his room. She was singing, oh what was that song. Ahhh, Viva la Vida. Pretty ironic for her to be singing it, as she was a princess. Chase turned around and gave her an evil glare, which she ignored.

"Lizzie, who told you that you could be in my room?" Chase asked, trying to keep his temper under control.

"I'm the princess." Lizzie responded, as if everything was settled. She flopped onto his bed and looked at the ceiling.

Chase facepalmed. "Yes, but I'm the prince, and I'm older."

Lizzie ignored him. Figures.

"I'm bored!" she sighed, and turned so she was looking at him.

Chase turned back to his desk. "And I care, why?"

Lizzie hopped off the bed and skipped over to the desk. "Whatcha doing?" she said, looking over his shoulder at the forms. "What're those?"

"They're the forms of the Selected girls that are coming here tomorrow. I'm supposed to look them over."

Lizzie squealed and tugged on Chase's arms. "Ohhhh! Can I help?! Please please please!"

Chase stood up. "NO! Don't you have to go riding or something?!"

Lizzie gave him an annoyed look. "It's raining, duh!"

Ohhh... No wonder she was bored. Chase felt a little bad for yelling. There really wasn't much to do in the Palace if you were 12. He remembered trying to find things to do when he was that age. He felt a little bad for yelling at he.

Chase sighed. "Fine, you can help..."

Lizzie cheered! "YAY! Whose first?!"

Chase grabbed the stack of forms from his desk, and sat on the bed next to Lizzie. "First things first, let's make a 'great', 'ok', and a 'maybe not' pile"

Lizzie grabbed the first form. "This one says 'Skyla Maire Grace. A three from Atlin." She handed over the form with a pretty blond girl on it.

"She's pretty" Chase said, "But not that unique looking". He put her form in the 'ok' pile, and picked up the next form.

"Alyssa Ferrer, a two in the military" he read.

Lizzie sighed, "She must be very brave." Chase silently agreed, and put her form in the 'ok' pile with Skyla.

"Miranda Marianne Mallory. Wow, that's a mouthful. But look how pretty she is Chasey! Even if she is a seven."

Chase looked at the beautiful girl on the form. She smiled like she knew a secret, and he couldn't help but like her. He put her in the 'great' pile, and smiled.

Lizzie laughed, but moved onto the next girl. "What about Grace here? A six."

Chase shook his head. "Pretty, but not my type." and placed her in the 'ok' pile.

Lizzie nodded. "I was thinking the same thing."

Chase picked up the next form. "Thoughts on Katherine Jane Bennet? A five, but wants to go to medical school."

"I like her." Lizzie said, and put her in the 'great' pile. Chase was about to argue, but left the girl there. There was no point in arguing it with Lizzie. He liked her, too, anyway.

The next couple of girls passed quickly. Celine, the gymnast was an 'ok', and so was Lizeth from Tammins. Annabeth Sarah Parker was a 'maybe not', and he secretly felt the same way for Mary Jo Morose, but put her in the 'ok' stack. Angel-Lynn was 'ok', too. Fern and Aspen were both 'great' because of how pretty they were. And Josephine Mary Stewart was a 'maybe not'. She looked a little too plain for his taste.

He finally started paying attention when Lizzie held up Annelyse's form. She was stunning, there was no question. But not in that 'full of herself way', she looked very innocent and intelligent. He put her form in the 'great' pile.

The next girl was Nova, the only eight in the competition. She was thin, and looked a little malnourished. But, she was also beautiful. Her hair was a wavy cinnamon color, and her eyes twinkled. Almost like she wanted to tell you a joke. Lizzie looked at him smiling, and put her form in the 'great' pile.

Victoria Lynn Scotts was a 'ok'. Josie, as it called her on the form, was a 'great'. Christine, from Bankston scored an 'ok'. Both Hana and Zoey were very plain, and they both were placed in the 'maybe not' pile.

Then, the two siblings came to Stella's form. Lizzie immediately started squealing, and Chase couldn't shut her up until he put the girl's form in the 'great' pile. Then, Lizzie just sat there staring at him smugly. Chase was probably going to put her there anyway, but he wasn't going to give her that satisfaction.

"Alaska Rose Kendell, the famous jockey". Lizzie smiled again, and placed the girl's form in the 'great' pile. This time, Chase agreed whole heartedly.

Chase picked up the next form, and nearly wet himself. Lizzie screamed. The girl on it was horrible! She looked like she wanted to kill them. "Regan Lousie Piper" Lizzie read, voice trembling. Chase shook his head, and placed the form at the bottom of the 'maybe not' pile. Then, on second though, he ripped it up and tore it to pieces.

"Good for you!" Lizzie applauded, "That girl had issues"

The girl from St. George, Adelie, was an 'ok'. She looked a little unhappy, for Chase's liking. Caitlin Nicole Gunderson was another 'ok', and the farmer girl Millie, was a 'maybe not'. She looked as if she hadn't bathed in a week.

Macyn, a quiet French beauty from Calagry, was beautiful. He put her form in the 'great' pile, without even asking Lizzie.

He sort of zoned out for the rest. After a while, they all started to look the same. Kamri McGrove was an 'ok'. She looked a little on edge, though. Hannah Skylar Rosemary, was a 'maybe not'. That girl had a serious nose-job-gone-bad problem. Sabrina and Lilly, both brunettes, scored in the 'ok' pile. Pretty but average.

The tomboy, Jean Lousie Finch from Dominica, was not Chase's type, scored only a 'maybe not'. And the last girl, from Carolina, was Lucille Holly Green. She was cute, in a way, and Chase put her in the 'ok' pile.

Finally, they were done. Chase checked his watch, and saw it was almost 9 PM. He hugged his little sister. "Thanks for your help, Lizzie!"

She hugged him back. "No problem."

Chase let go of her. "Now, scat. It's time for you to go to bed."

Lizzie pouted for a minute, before Chase told her he would go get their mom. Lizzie didn't want to annoy Queen America either, so she ran down the hall when he suggested that idea.

Chase, tired from all that work, rubbed his eyes. He could hit the hay, too. 35 girls were going to invade his house tomorrow. He was not exactly looking forward to it. But at, least he had one more night by himself. Then, without even bothering to change his clothes, he collapsed on the bed, and was immediately asleep.

~~~Line Break~~~

About an hour later, Queen America and King Maxon walked silently into Chase's room. America kissed her sleeping son on his forehead, and pushed his hair out of his eyes. Maxon made his way over to the desk and began looking at the piles. He waved his wife over.

"What type of organizing is this?" America said, confused.

"Probably something like 'great', 'ok', and 'no'." Maxon said.

America looked at him defensively. "How did you know that!?" she yell-whispered.

Maxon blushed and looked down, "Ummm... it was just a guess."

America glared at him for a minute, before her gaze softened. "Was I at least in your 'great' pile."

Maxon kissed her lightly on the top of her head. "You, my dear, were too good for the 'great pile'. You had your own pile all to yourself."

She blushed a little, and then the two of the held hands as the walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind them.

**Whew! I'm exhausted! That was a LOT for me! I hope you liked it! Please read, comment, favorite, and follow! Next chapter will be a makeover chapter. Probably! **

**Have a great night guys!**

~Zanzi!


	19. Chapter 17

**Hi guys! Now, don't hate me, but this isn't that long of a chapter. It's not like 300 words, but it's not my longest. Sorry, but I was rushed. At least it was something right! This chapter will introduce to adorable characters, Katherine and Lucilia. They are the first ones to get their makeovers. I'm sorry, but I don't really know much about fashion, so I didn't go into a ton of detail. **

**On a happier note, I have finally finished doing face claims for all the girls! That's 4 1/2 work of coding I had to do before I realized there was a button that could do that for me. Yah... not fun. Still! All the girls have one (PM me if it's totally wrong or if it won't open), and also the royals do as well. Chase is played by Billy Unger, because I have a serious celebrity crush on him. He's adorable. Also, Lizzie and Buttercup (the pony) have a face claim, and there's two cute pics of what I imagine Maxon and America look like. So go check my bio!**

**Alright, I'll start the chapter now! ;)**

Chapter 17- Katherine and Lucilia's Makeover

Katherine had no idea what's going on. None!

As soon as her flight landed at the airport, she was rushed to yet another window with the three other girls on the plane. It was a little awkward, seeing as no one talked, and the driver wouldn't let her open the windows. The other girls were nice enough, but they seem rather shy and quite. No one talked. It was dead silent in the backseat.

Lucilia was looking out the window. Lillian, or Lily as she preferred, was staring into her lap. And Caitlin was fussing with her hair. I just looked at all of them. They seemed so much more mature than me. And regal. Lily especially looked like she was already the princess. Her blond curls tumbles and bounced around her face, and she smiled. A little nervously, but it was a pretty smile.

Caitlin looked bored. She had rolled her eyes when Katherine had asked to roll down the window. Maybe she didn't like fresh air? Either way, she hadn't spoken to anyone on the plane or the limo. Weird. But maybe that was just her way of showing nerves.

Out of all the girls, Katherine thought Lucilia looked the most calm. She was looking out the window, beaming. She had such a pretty smile. The two girls had talked on the plane a little, but hadn't spoken in the car. Lucilia had chosen to sit next to Katherine, so she supposed that was a good sign.

Katherine couldn't tell what her own face looked like. She felt like she was going to throw up, though. She was seriously glad there was no conversation to join. She wasn't sure if her insides would stay in, if she opened the grounds.

The driver announced, "We are entering the palace grounds. Please be ready to go as soon as we stop, as we are running slightly late."

Caitlin nodded curtly, but said nothing. Lily gasped a little, but also didn't speak. Katherine started to hyperventilate.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god!" she thought. She felt a reassuring squeeze of her hand, and looked up to see Lucilia smiling at her. Katherine whispered thanks, and relaxed a little more. Lucilia winked at her.

"Relax" Katherine thought to herself, "I can do this! Totally!"

The car stopped and the girls were rushed inside the palace without so much as a "Thanks!" to the driver. Inside, was someone possibly even more nervous that Katherine herself. Her name was Megan Brown.

Megan was short and stout. She had chocolate brown eyes, and a tight bun. She barely introduced them as their royal instructor, before she rushed them into the Women's Room.

"Tut tut! You all are 5 minutes tardy. Come along, girls. You'll have to hurry."

And with that, Katherine was left at the hands of her maids. She was happy to find that Lucilia was at the station right next to her. At least she had one person she knew.

Three women rushed up to her. Katherine guessed they must be her maids. The oldest one, who seemed to be in charge, introduced herself as Emily. The middle girl, who immediately started straightening Katherine's hair, was Sarah. And the youngest girl, that looked younger than Katherine, smiled a little and said her name was Lacie.

"What do you want your style to be, Lady Katherine?" Sarah asked, eagerly.

"My style?" Katherine asked, a little confused. She looked over at Lucilia for help, but she was busy choosing a small bottle from a huge rack.

"What are those?!" Katherine asked, aghast.

Lucilia laughed. "They're your personal scent. Like, your special flavor of perfume. I just Coconut Passion. I think it makes me smell like Argentina, or somewhere exotic."

"Ohhh!" Katherine exclaimed, and turned to her maids, "Do I get to pick one too?"

Lacie nodded. "Yes, but pick your personal style first."

Katherine shook her head a little. "I'm sorry, but I don't know what that means."

Lucilia patiently explained, as her maids (Alexandra, Tiana, and Haven) busied themselves with painting her nails and styling their hair. "It's basically your inner self. Who you think you are! For example, I'm a bit outgoing, so I wanted a dramatic flair to my wardrobe." She was pulled behind a curtain by one of her maids so she could put the dress on.

"And TA-DA!" Lucilia came out. She looked stunning, in a light green skater dress, with a gold design around the edges. Lace fluffed out the bottom, and the petiskirt she was wearing fanned it out even more. She neutral eyeshadow had a hint of gold, and it drew out the blue in her eyes. Her hair was left down, in a loose ponytail and curled. She looked like a princess.

"Ohhhhhh! Wow!" Katherine gushed, "You look so beautiful!"

"You'll look great too, Katherine! I promise! I have to go now, but I'll see you later, for sure." And waving good bye, Lucilia walked away.

Katherine turned back to her maid, who were all beaming at her. "I have an idea. I'm a little shy, but I can have a temper when I want. Can that be my style?"

Emily nodded happily. "Of course, Lady Katherine! Now, what would you like your special scent to be?"

"Cinnamon!" Katherine replied instantly. "It's sweet, and a little bitter."

"It's perfect!" squealed Lacie.

Lacie started painted Katherine's nails, while Sarah arranged her hair in a braided crown. Emily ran and got Katherine's dress. At the sight of it, Katherine nearly started crying.

The dress was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It was around knee hight, and was tight to the skin. It was a bright fuchsia color, but on the top it had an accented sleeve with black flowers flowing up the strap. It was outlined with black at the bottom, two, with just a little bit of ruffle.

"What's the matter?" Lacie asked, concerned. "Don't you like it?"

Katherine's eyes filled with tears. "Like it! It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen! Thank you guys so so much!"

"You're very welcome!" Sarah said, "But please, don't cry! It will ruin your makeup." Katherine laughed at that idea.

So Katherine didn't cry. She beamed instead. She caught Lucilia's eye from across the room, and the other girl gave her a thumbs up. "This isn't nearly as scary as I thought." Katherine thought. "Prince Chase, here I come!"

**Alright! How'd ya all like it! Please comment (WE HIT 100!), favorite, and follow! Tell me which girls you like, don't like, love, fantasize about killing, ext.. I'd love to know! Also, read my newest story on FictionPress. It's called "Horrible Horror Movies". Sorta a spoof of how stupid horror movies are. I'm under Winter Sky Grace there. Thank you all for reading! I love you guys! Hugs and kittens for you all!**


	20. Chapter 18

**Hi everyone! I'm writting now because I have a choir concert tonight. Guess who just found out she opens the song with a solo. *points to self* This girl! Urg! Scared! But, writting helps me stay calm, so I'll give you a new chapter. Sorry, it's pretty short, but it's better than nothing!**

And, also, please make sure you guys are reviewing. It really helps me get some feedback on whether or not you liked the chapter. I'd like to shout out Nova (guest) and shades. They always review! Thanks so much guys! Also, people like 4love4love4, who give me positive crititsm occasionally, and that's also really helpful. Thanks to her, also!

Ok, I'll start the chapter. :)

Chapter 18- Celine and Nova's Makeovers

Celine was the first girl to arrive at the castle. Well, tecnically her group was with her, but who cares about them? Nova was looking up at the castle and jumping up and down like a puppy. Pfff, amature! This was nothing new for Celine. But, she supposed, if you were an eight, this would be like a dream come true.

Celine was led to the chair, where she met her maids. They're names were something like "Nacy, Betty, and Rachele". Well, something like that.

"What do you want your style to be, Lady Celine?" the oldest maid asked.

"Sexy, obviously!" Celine rolled her eyes, "I mean, have you seen me?"

The woman nodded, "Ok, I agree." She ran off to get her dress. The other two, Betty and Rachele, started painting her nails and doing her hair. She decided to straighten her hair, and layer it. Then, they curled it, so it hung in perfect curls. Her nails were painted a light blue, with a little pop-up bow on each thumb.

The older woman came back, carrying Celine's dress. She didn't want to say it, but the dress was perfect. It was short, about thigh length, and hugged her thighs. It was a dark blue, with sparkles of light blue shimmering all over it. The neckline was low and showed a ton of her cleavage. The woman had chosen blue pumps to go with it.

Celine faked a sigh. "It'll have to do" she said in a bored tone.

The maids all curtsied and finished up her finally. She took a look at herself in the mirror.

"I look HAWT!" she thought to herself. Whispering a silent thank you, she went to the other side of the ladies room, practicing her "run-way" walk as she went. It was never to early to scare the competition.

~~~Line Break~~~

Nova was very overwelmed. She had arrived at the palace, after her horrible plane ride, and been rushed into the women's room by a distressed looking women, who she assumed was her teacher. She didn't seem too pleased to find out that Nova was an eight. Not many people are, Nova thought.

She was rushed too a seat where she would get her makeover. She waited a few minutes before her maids, or she thought they were maids, rushed up to her.

"Hi Lady Nova," the youngest one introduced, "I'm Kate, this is Amanda and that's Marcy! We're so excited to serve you".

"Ummm... hi!" Nova said, a little nervously, "There's no need to call me Lady though. Nova is perfectly fine with me."

"But, miss, we have to call people in higher classes "Lady or Lord". It's our duty." Marcy, the oldest one, said. Amanda and Kate nodded vigourously.

Nova doubled over in laughter. "Higher! I was an eight until today."

Kate laughed a little, "I know this might all seem a little new to you, but we'll try our best to make you feel as comfotable as possible."

Nova nodded. It was a little weird. She was not used to all this attention.

"So, Lady Nova, what would you like your style to be" Amanda asked, smiling at Nova.

"Well..." Nova said. She had thought a lot about this on the plane. She wanted the people in charge of custody branches to see she was mature enough to handle being her guardian. That was the only reason she was here, anyway.

"Yes?" Kate said eagerly.

"I was thinking modest and mature. Like someone you could look up too. Nothing to short or low cut."

Kate smiled. "I think that's an awesome idea."

She ran off to get a dress, while the other maids started doing her hair. Nova refused to have her nails fully painted, instead settling for a clear polish with white gel tips. Amanda did her hair up in a bun on the back of her head. By the time they had done, Kate had come back with the perfect dress.

It was a beautiful emerald green color, which drew out the red highlights in Nova's hair. It was slighly ruffly and came down to around half-past her knees. It had medium length, lacey sleeves that dangled off her arms. It was fairly loose-fitting, and it made her look much fuller and healthier.

"WOW!" Nova squealed. "It's soooooooo beautiful!"

Kate flushed a little and curtsied, "Thank you Miss."

Nova gave the girl a hug! "Really, it's so incrediable"

Amanda coughed a little to get the two girls to part. "Let's get you ready, Lady Nova. You're going to be the prettiest girl here."

**Hope you liked it! Wish me lucktonight! As alway, comment (PLEASE), favorite, and follow. Next chapter will either be another makeover chapter, or a Prince Chase dream sequence. Not sure yet! Also, Shades UPDATE! Just saying, I don't like cliffhangers! If it is a makeover chapter, it's probably going to be Stella and Miranda's. Not sure on that either though!**

Chocolate and chocolate lab puppies for all y'all!

~Zanzi


	21. Chapter 19

**Yo! Hey! Wassup! It's after the choir concert, and I have no desire to work on homework, so I'll write instead. Any complaints xD? Didn't think so! :)**

**So, I didn't fail at my solo! I know! I was a little flat, but seeing as I had never sung it into a mic before, I thought I did pretty well. And, guess what!? My crush came over after the concert ended an told me what a fantastic job I did! And he's in a higher level choir than me! *squeals* I THOUGHT I WAS DREAMING! He didn't ask me to homecoming :(, but one step at a time, right! **

**Oh, and one shout out too. To my new reviewer, ThatGuest. **

**ThatGuest: Oh my gosh, thank you sooooo much! It means sooo much to me! I like, nearly cried reading it! You are so incredibly sweet! You should definitely write a fanfic. Everyone has to start sometime! I'm 13 too, and this is only my second fanfic. As for advice, I'm maybe not the one to ask. All I came up with was, "Umm... Don't die" XD. But seriously, I would say probably listen to your heart. I know, corny, but it's true. Don't let comments run your story! I mean, accept compliments, but don't let negative comments get you down. Believe in yourself, and your talent as a writer. So, yah... That's kinda it. **

**I'll write the chapter now xD**

**Chapter 19- Chase's Dream**

The night before the girl the girls were supposed to arrive, Chase had a very strange dream.

He was in the castle, but no one else was around. In fact, the whole palace was empty. He was in the hallway outside his room. Everything was silent.

He walked down the corridor, but still nothing happened. Just great... He was even alone in his dream. Now all he needed was Lizzie to be here.

But, no one showed up. He continued to walk down the corridor.

"Ok now!" he spoke out loud. "Getting weird now."

Still nothing happened.

"Hello! Anyone here me?" he said, a little louder.

Nothing.

"Aren't dreams supposed to have like a plot, or something?" he yelled.

Zip happened.

"Isn't this the time where I loose my pants or something?" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

This time, something happened. A little girl, about 5 years old, ran up to him. She was a cute little thing, with brown hair and blue eyes. She have him a great big hug around his stomach.

"Ummm..." he huffed as she hit him from a dead run.

"Daddy!" the little girl hugged screamed as she hugged him.

"What!?" Chase screamed. He realized that what the girl was showing him was his future. His future daughter.

Then another young boy, this time around 7 years old, ran down the hallway with a chocolate lab by his side. He called out to his sister.

"Hey! C'mon! Let's play ball with Chocolate Chip!" The little girl ran to the puppy.

A young woman walked down the hall. The children ran to her and hugged her. Obviously, their mother. Chase peered at her face, but he couldn't make it out. All her facial features were obscured.

He tried to call out, but they started to vanish. After a few seconds, they were gone.

Chase woke up in a cold sweat. He was breathing heavily and his heart was pounding. He got up out of the bed and started pacing. If that dream was really his future, he had 2 kids that he knew of. And a chocolate lab. And a beautiful wife. The Selection did him some good.

He ended up with someone. Know he just needed to know who it was.

**Hahahaha! 2 chapters in 1 night! Yay! Hope you like it! Sorry it's sorta short though. **


	22. Chapter 20

**Hola peoples! Como eres? Ok, I'm in Spanish 1, so I'm pretty sure I got that wrong. Whatever. Cut me some slack! ;)**

**Also, sad news. My crush will probably not ask me to homecoming. :( Apparently, he has an almost girlfriend. I heard he turned down a girl who asked him. So, unless that's me and I don't know, it's not gonna happen. But, I may still go in a group of friends though. That would be fun!**

**So, here's another makeover chapter. Not another weird dream randomness chapter xD. That was just fun to think of. Still, I'll go back to normal. This makeover is Stella and Miranda's. Yah, so ummm... I'll get started. :D enjoy!**

Chapter 20- Stella and Miranda's Makeover

They had sent a limo to pick Stella up. She lived over the freaking castle garage, and they sent a car for her. Did they not think she had legs? Was someone going to shoot her if she walked? When you were Selected, could you not do any form of physical exercise?

Well, whatever floats your boat. Stella was just glad the hadn't made her fly out to a different province, just to fly back to the palace. That would have been so dumb. They people on the news would have been like, "And, from Angeles, Lady Stella. She's not very exciting. The only remotely interesting thing about her is that she flew to Carolina, just to fly back to Angeles. We suspect she's crazy!" Actually, thinking about that, Stella would have killed to see that. She would have laughed so hard.

It's not like she expected to make it very far in the competition. She figured the only reason Chase might keep her was at Lizzie's say so. That little girl had a way of getting everything she wanted. Even her pony was a little afraid of her. Lizzie was going to make a darn good princess some day!

But, either way, Stella didn't have much time to think about it. She pondered what she thought her personal style for her wardrobe would be during the 23 second car ride. Amazingly, an idea didn't strike her in all that time.

She got into the palace around the middle of the groups. She was immediately sent to the women's room by a lady, who didn't seem particularly interested in Stella. Ehhh, whatever. Stella was just surprised she got to walk to the women's room. She was expecting a Vespa, or something.

She sat down and reclined in the chair. Three young women bustled over to her.

"Hi, Lady Stella! My names Ashley, and this is Gina and Layla. We'll be your maids."

Stella smiled, "I'm Stella." she introduced herself. "Wait... Heheh, you know that already."

They laughed. "True. It would be pretty unprofessional if we didn't even know the name of the girl we'll be serving." Layla said, with a smile.

"Hey," Stella replied giggling, "Fake it till you make it, right?!"

They all chuckled again, before they got down to business. "So, Lady Stella, what do you want your personal style to be?" Gina asked.

"Well, I have an idea, but I'm not positive it'll work."

"Well, tell us!" said Gina.

"Ok, well, I was wondering if we could do something girly and classic. Sort of like an old-timey movie star."

The maids looked at each other, looks of excitement on each of their faces.

"I thinks it's brilliant!" Ashley squealed. Gina clapped and Layla bounced on her toes.

"I'll go get a dress!" Layla said, and she ran off.

Gina started painting Stella's nail and Ashley did her hair. By the time Layla came back, Stella's nails were painted a pearly white color with darkish blue tips. Her hair was curled and down, but with a red flower clip in her hair.

"And next, you pick your scent!" squealed Ashley.

"Umm... Can I smell like buttercream icing?" Stella half joked.

"Sure" Ashley shrugged, pulling out a small bottle.

"Wait, I didn't think that

"OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOMYGOSH" Stella screamed when she say the dress.

It was stunning! It was sleeves, but had thick, halter style straps around her neck. It was a dark blue color, with white polka dots. There was white fabric over the top of the dress. The tulle underlay was read, and there was a thick red belt in the middle. She put it on, and saw it skimmed her knees. It was perfect. (I'm going to post a link on my bio if you want to see the dress!"

She beamed at her maids and gave them all a hug. "Thank you so so so much!"

"Your welcome!" they all chirped back.

She checked herself one last time. When she was positive she didn't need anything else, she sashayed to the where the other girls were sitting, noticing happily that at least some of them were smiling at her.

"That's a good sign!" Stella thought.

~~~Line Break~~~

Even before the wardrobe crisis, Miranda was not having a great day. Everyone on her plane ride probably hated her right now. She hadn't necessarily meant to be mean to them, she was just nervous. When she got nervous, she got mean.

But, that hadn't been the only reason. If Miranda was perfectly honest with herself, she was very jealous of the other girls. They all had looked so calm. They had all been laughing and joking, like they'd known each other for years. It wasn't fair.

Miranda had just locked up when they had tried to talk to her. When she had made her 'I'm ground' comment to Sky, she hadn't meant to hurt the girls feelings.

Miranda was scared. She was scared of being here, but she was terrified of being sent home. She didn't want to go back to a half-abusive father that only showed up to hurt her. She didn't want to go home to her mother and sister, who never believed in her anyway. She didn't they believed she could make it. Going home would just prove them right.

But, anyway, she was at least enjoying her makeover. She had chosen her personal style to be "high end and sexy". Her maids had nodded and come back with a little black dress that was strapless and short. She accessorized with a silver heart necklace and pink pumps. Her maids tied a pink scarf in her hair.

She looked incredible! But, she was too nervous even to notice. She whispered a quick thanks to her maids, and then slunk off to a corner. She was too nervous to talk to people.

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Sorta cute! Maybe? I dunno. Hahaha, well hope you like it more than my crush likes me (well, we're friends, I meant in the romantic way). Ugh boys. How come they never pick the right girl?! Have a good night!**


	23. Chapter 21

**Hi y'all! What's up! This will probably be last short update for a while. And the last super quick update. I have a PSAT to study for, and I'm freaking 13. Stupid school!**

**Ok, so I know you all are anxious to get an elimination. I don't know why xD. Wouldn't you rather just have makeup sessions? ;) But, I know you're all pretty bored. This will be my last makeup chapter. Next will the Report! Yay! But, this one will be Alaska's because I promised 4love4love4 one. But then, the report *lightning flashes***

Chapter 21- Alaska's Makeover

Getting a full makeover was just another day for Alaska. New hairstyles and manicures were as regular as showing. It wasn't usually in the castle, but a girl like her could adapt. If she could ride a Thoroughbred, she could walk in heels.

Kathryn, Aliana, and Vivian seemed like they were ok maids. They were nice enough and the clothes they had made her was pretty. I mean, of course her style was chic and pretty. She was a model! It did have a smidge of tomboy, her being a jockey and all, but she liked makeup and dresses as much as the next girl. Her secret scent was roses, as it reminded her a little of racing.

The maids had pulled Alaska's hair into an elegant bun at the back of her head. It was designed to be a little messy and loose on purpose because that was the new 'in' look. It was held together by a diamond sparkly clip.

Kathryn had painted her nails a darkish blue with white polka dots. Lizy, who had been sitting next to Alaska for her makeover, had squealed.

"OMG! I luv luv luv polka dots!" she screamed, almost shaking Alaska's hand off. Lizy struck Alaska as a polka dot person. Very, what's a nice word, bubbly. Note how Alaska avoided using the word crazy. See! She's trying to make friends.

The dress was then pulled out. It was a strapless little blue thing. It matched her nails perfectly. It was thigh-hugging, but its skirt had two layers so it looked flippy. It brought out the blue in Alaska's eyes, which stood out perfectly against the silver eyeshadow. A little row of sparkly 'diamonds' glittered around the top of her dress.

"Ohhhhhh myyyyyyy gossssssshhhhh" Lizy squeaked, "Alaska, you look so beautiful! Just like a princess. I hope, if I don't win, that you do!"

Alaska was touched by the complement. She had only known Lizy for a few hours now. She didn't even know wether to consider them friends. But here the girl was telling her that she hoped Alaska would win. Alaska was torn between thinking "Awww! So sweet!" and "Idiot!"

"Thank you, Lizy" Alaska was able to choke out.

But the girl was too busy getting her makeover done to hear. She looked lovely too. A little more cute than Alaska, not as elegant. She had her long honey blond hair straightened and layered. Then the maids tied it up into a high ponytail, and put a silver headband in. Her dress was a purple draw-waisted thing. It went to almost floor length. It had a silver belt and she had accessorized with pearl earrings. Her nails were silver with purple hearts in the middle. What was it she had chosen for her secret scent again? Something like, snicker doodles.

She was also very pretty. She had such a sweet, innocent face. Sorta the person you just want to say, "Ohh honey!" to.

Lizy seemed like a good friend. But she also, and Alaska hated herself for thinking this, seemed like tough competition to beat. And Alaska had to win. She HAD to.

"Game on, girl." Alaska thought.

**Happy almost Sunday and have a great night! Comment, favorite, the works! ;)**


	24. Chapter 22

**Wazzup! Here it is! The Report! OMG am I right! And, it's long! Next chapters will be the interviews. I think I'm going to split them into 3 parts. I write fast, but I don't have a long period of time. I'm sooooo busy. **

**Still no homecoming date :( but it's only my first one. I may not even be able to go anyway though, cause my horse show may be the same day. And I would much rather hang out with my gelding, Zanzibar. XD I jumped him 2'9 for the first time and stayed alive a few weeks ago, so now my trainer's letting me compete in a 2 ft. class. Yay! It'll be way less crowded and my horse loves to jump. **

**Ok, here's the report!**

Chapter 23- The Report

~~~Chase's POV~~~

Well, I haven't died yet! That's always a good sign. I haven't been killed by an angry teenage girl rampage. Technically, I haven't met the girls yet, but who cares. I'm still a little nervous for the report though. Now I'll get to see what the public thinks of the girls. It won't be as bad as the Interviews though. I'm not looking forward to that.

Not as bad as the Interviews, not as bad as the Interviews. That's all I can think as I take my seat in the Report room across from the 35 girls. I look around at them and try to give them a winning smile. It looks more like a grimace though.

Some of the girls, like Aspen and Fern give me flirtatious smiles. I blush a little. I may be a gentleman, but man they're hot. Other girls, like Nova the eight won't look me in the eye. Miranda looks up at the ceiling for a while, but then catches my eye and winks. It's a nice wink, like she wants to be friends. I sorta want to be more than friends, but we can start there, I suppose.

Stella, Lizzie's old riding instructor, is staring me down. Those purple eyes are really unnerving. Alaska Kendell is talking to Lizeth, and looks like she's enjoying herself. Skyla Grace catches my eye and gives a small wave. I nod back. Macyn plays with her hair and Josie is glaring daggers at Miranda. Woah, there must be some tension there. Lucilia and Katherine are making polite conversation. The rest of the girls' faces blend together. I'm proud I remembered so many of their names. That's pretty impressive.

And then the Report starts.

There's the usual capital and politics talk. An outburst started in Dakota today. Gas prices are soaring in New Asia. I pretty much tone it all out. I bet the whole country basically is.

Then Gavril says, "Well, 35 beautiful young women arrived at the palace today. Let's see how they all held up!" He began to describe a bit about each girl's arrival to the palace.

"Lucille Holly Green was calm and relaxed. This two from Carolina looks happy to be here in the palace!"

"Jean Lousie Finch, our country tomboy, looked like she had a little trouble adjusting to palace life. She looked a little uncomfortable when the crowd greeted her, but was found socializing with the other girls a few hours later."

"Miss Lillian Paige Luna was the very image of a princess. Keeping her head held high and a small smile on her face, she was seen signing autographs and posing for photos. The country wishes you luck, Lillian."

"Sabrina Eliza Rose seemed a little weary. As a two, she's used to all the attention. But, we had hoped for a little more excited response."

"Hannah Skylar Rosemary was very proper. She gave a very inspirational speech at her send-off, reducing several members of the audience to tear, including her boyfriend Henry. We hope she won't have any mixed feelings toward Prince Chase."

"Kamri McGrove handled herself like a lady in the crowds. She adjusted very quickly and seemed to be enjoying herself."

"Macyn was a complete beauty. This stunning French girl knew how to play a crowd. She was so sweet, and gave everyone attention in some way. From signing autographs to hugging strangers, she is definitely a crowd favorite!"

"Riley Millie McGreeves was a little shell-shocked. Caitlin Nicole Gunderson seemed nervous, and came across a little aloof. Adellia, who told everyone to call her Addie, warmed up her send-off by telling a few jokes. Regan Piper Louise came across a little snotty, but seemed to perk up in her makeover."

"Alaska Rose Kendell looked so beautiful. She is definitely used to the crowds and handled herself in an enviable manner. She is polled to be the crowd favorite for right now."

"Stella Handson laughed heartily at the fact the castle sent a car to pick her up. She lives right over the castle garage, and was the assistant riding instructor for Princess Lizzie. Stella told reporters, 'I'm just glad they didn't make me fly on an airplane and then fly back. Imagine that on the news.'"

"Zoey looked very pretty after her makeover. Hana Kim and she seemed to become friends fairly fast. They both seem very graceful and polite."

"Christine Couslon had a pretty quiet send-off. She waved to the crowds and blew kisses to everyone."

"Josephine, told the crowds that she absolutely hated the name, and that everyone could call her Josie. Her trademark blue streaked hair has been dyed back to its normal brown, but she doesn't seem too happy about that. Well, blue or brown, she's one of the crowd favorites."

"Annelyse Paul had a very proper send off. This lovely girl was straight and to the point. She gave a nice speech, and then was in the limo."

"Another Josephine, Josephine Mary Stewart lost her temper a little with the crowd. They were all trying to touch her, and she slapped one of them on the hand. You better watch out, Prince Chase."

"Victoria Lynn Scotts was super cheerful and perky. She told people in her speech that it's been her dream since she was a little girl to become princes. Illea wishes her luck."

"Nova, our only eight in this competition, looked a little bit nervous. She told reporters during her makeover that she's 'really excited to be here, but not very used to the palace atmosphere'. Such a darling, I'm sure she'll adjust in no time."

"Lucilia Keane and Katherine Bennett seemed to have formed a firm friendship. Both girls show a little bit of nerves, but seem to be handling themselves very well."

"Fern and Aspen are both models. They seemed to be very relaxed, and both have put out statements saying how much they love being here."

"Angel-Lynn Joy Reid was kind to her crowd, but Mary Jo Morsoe was a little standoffish. Annabelle Parker was a mix between them both."

"Lizeth Marlene Sirena was all bubbles. She hugged everyone in the crowd and posed for dozens of pictures. She's a crowd favorite in many of the provinces."

"Celine Winchester, the famous gymnast, finally got her cast off. The athletic girl said she was excited for this new opportunity, but would miss doing what she loved."

"Grace Pryce was as excited as can be when she got on the airplane. 'I've never flown before!' she cheerfully told the reporters at her sendoff."

"Miranda Mallory was a little shy, or so we're told. She refused to be interviewed and gave a very short speech. She looked very nervous, but as a seven, we understand where that is coming from. When she was walking into the palace, she did pose for a few photos. Maybe she just needs to work out of her nerves."

"Alyssa Ferrer also looked a little nervous. I'm sure it will be a big adjustment for many of the girls."

"And Skyla Marie Grace took the prize for the best send-off. She prefromed a song she wrote herself, and got a standing ovatiotion from the audience. She is in the second place spot for leading girl!"

"Well, that's all the girls. Have a great night, Illea, and we'll see you next Friday!"

Then the camera shut off, and the Report was over.

**Have a great day y'all! See ya next time! **


	25. Chapter 23

**Hi everyone! I'm a little ticked off right now, because I apparently failed my essay for English. My mom's a writer and she said I should have a least gotten a B. She have me 0/5 on organization. What?! And we can't really take it up with the principal, as it's his wife. So, I'm going to redo it to get a better grade, but it's still slightly annoying. It wasn't the best essay ever, but y'all have seen my writing. I'm not sucking too terribly, am I? **

**Homecoming is this weekend! *squeals* My crush was asked by, but he told me all about how he didn't want to go with her. Turns out she's a psychopath. But, whatever. I'm too young for boys anyway. I date my horse ;). But, I do need your help. I'm torn between two dresses. One is a blue satiny dress. It's tight fitted, kinda short, and one strap. But, it's super pretty and a nice modern twist. The one I'm leaning toward is a black, skater-girl style. It's pattern is flowers and it has a see through top above my chest area. This is a little more classic, and it fits the theme. Which one do you like better? Comment xD**

**Alright, so I didn't have enough time to start an interview chapter, but I did do a bit of Maxmerica. Because, they're adorable and no one likes Aspen. Well, Lucy, but still. It's basically them reminiscing about their selection, and wondering about Chase's. **

Chapter 23- Reminiscent Dreams

America made her way into her husband's study, caring a lunch tray. She gently knocked on the door, and waited for Maxon to tell her to enter.

"Honey," she called, "I have your lunch."

His voice, muffled by the door, echoed out. "Come in"

Balancing the tray against her knee, she pushed open the door. She saw her husband at his work desk, pouring over a map. She softly crossed the room, and placed his lunch tray on the table next to the desk.

Maxon looked up at her. "Thank you, my dear." he said, standing up and pulling her into him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I still don't like that name." America giggled.

Maxon rolled his eyes. "Fine then, my darling."

America smiled. "Better!"

Maxon swatted at her gently. "I wonder what Chase's pet names will be?"

She laughed. "Knowing Chase, he'll probably just stick to their first names"

"True." Maxon sighed.

"To be honest," America said hesitantly, "I'm not sure he will connect with any of the girls. He's gotten a little too big for his britches."

Maxon rubbed his forehead. "Yes, I've seen that in him. It's probably just a phase though."

"I don't care! No son of mine gets to act like he runs the kingdom!" America said, a little huffily.

'But, my darling, he does run the kingdom!" Maxon tried to reason.

America ran her fingers through her hair. "I know. But I don't know where he gets this from. Lizzie isn't like that at all!"

Maxon hugged his wife. "Yes, but Lizzie has other issues. She acts like she's about 5, sometimes."

"I'd take that over arrogance." America fretted.

"Look, Chase is going through a lot of stress right now. He never really wanted to have a selection in the first place. Maybe this arrogance thing is just his body trying to handle the stress." Maxon told his wife.

"I guess." America sighed, and sat down on a chair next to Maxon's desk.

"Hey, if the girls are anything like the last ones, they'll teach him a lesson." Maxon laughed an took a sandwich from the plate.

America laughed, too. "Oh yes, I'm sure. I bet that eight, Nova, will teach him something."

"Agreed. Some of those sevens looked like they would beat him up!" Maxon said with his mouth full.

"I'm glad Stella's in the selection. Lizzie just raves about her." America said.

"Yah, it'll be nice for Chase to have someone he's at least met before." Maxon replied.

"I'm not sure they like each other very much though." America sighed.

"Well, better than nothing. As long as she doesn't knee him in the groin, I think they'll be fine." Maxon laughed.

This time America swatted her husband. "I still say it was the leg." she said, pretending to look innocent.

"And I still say it still hurts!" Maxon said, and he kissed her on the cheek. "But I should really get back to work, my darling."

"What are you doing?" America asked.

"Just checking the relationships in New Asia. We are not going to have another war!" Maxon chuckled.

"Sounds like a plan" America stood up and kissed Maxon. "I'll see you later". She walked out of the study, and Maxon went back to his work.

**What did you think? Short and sweet, right? Well, better than nothing. Next time I update will be after homecoming, so I'll tell you which dress I wore. Comment, favorite, follow, all the usual. Also, I forgot to say that I have a Wattpad account. My account name is PaigeMHolly. Go on there and look at some of my stories. I'm starting one now called "One Last Melody" which I've got a few super cool ideas for. If you show an intrest, and I see your comments or whatever, I may let you submit a character! No promises, but it could happen.**

**Have a great day all y'all!**

**~Zanzi**


	26. Chapter 24

**Hi people! Never fear, Zanzi is here! Hehehe, sorry for that. It didn't sound as cool as I imagined. Either way, I'm back! Yay! So, here's the interview chapter. I didn't do it in a specific order, I just went up through the list of provinces. I'm splitting them into three chapters, so they won't be HORRIBLY long! Everyone on this part got an interview, so it's sorta a long chapter, though.**

**Homecoming went well. I actually wore a different dress I bought the day of, so yah. That's how I role people. It was white with black polka dots, and I got hot pink heels, so that was amazing. I wasn't asked to slow dance with my crush, but he had a date so I didn't expect that. But, he did give me a half hug-high five thing, and told me that his date was a complete phyko and that he wished he had never agreed to go. So, silver linings! **

**But I'll get to the chapter. I may not be able to update as frequently, because I'm working on 3 stories. This one, another SYOC for Lab Rats with help from a friend, and then my original story, One Last Melody, on Wattpad. I'm trying people! I'm trying!**

Chapter 24- The Interviews, Part 1 (Duh duh duh!)

~~~Chase's POV~~~

Today's the day. Well, the morning! Either way... I don't like it. Stupid interview rules. Why do they have to be so early in the morning? I barely had time to have my maids do anything! It takes time to look this gorgeous.

I sit on the couch and look at the sofa that will soon have 35 women on it. Is their anyway I can just not do this? Maybe call in sick? I tap my fingers on the table that holds the list of the girls, a pencil, and

"Well, Chase, at least you get to talk to pretty girls!" a voice in my head said.

Great, now I'm talking to myself. Fun. But, no, I do not want to talk to pretty girls. They probably will just kiss up to me. Or maybe hit me. Either way...

"But Chase, pretty girls aren't like that! And who wouldn't love you?" the voice says.

Why am I referring to myself in third person? I have no idea. But, the voice is right! I am pretty awesome. I mean not to toot my own horn but, toot toot toot.

A second voice argues with the first. "Yes, but he's also rude and egotistical."

"Who asked you?" the first voice shoots back.

"What's going on!" I scream in my head.

"Shut up!" both voices yell.

I think I was just yelled at by myself. What an inspirational speech. I roll my eyes. Why why why do I have to do this!?

"Because it's fun!" the first voice says. At the same time, the second voice says "Because you have to!"

God, I hate life. But I really don't have time to think about that, because the girls file into the room and sit down in rows across from me. They all look at me expectantly. Oh yah, I'm supposed to do a speech or something.

I stand up. "Ummmm... well, hello. Today I'm going to interview everyone, just to get to know you a little. Since there's 35 of you, so I won't get very much time with you. But, I'm sure you are all hungry, so let's get started. Can the first girl, Lady Holly Louise Green, please come up?" The rest of the girls chatter amongst themselves, as a pretty brunette in an emerald floor length gown comes up.

I bow politely and she curtseys a little awkwardly. She's a five, so she's probably never had to do anything like curtsy.

"Your majesty" she says in a quiet whisper.

"Lady Holly, good morning. I'm sorry you had to be the first one."

She smiles and I invite her to sit in the chair. She does, and I sit as well.

"Well, Lady Holly, how are you?" I start, a little unsure of what I'm supposed to do.

"I'm very well, Prince Chase. How are you?" she asks earnestly.

I'm taken aback that she asked me a question, but it's a pleasant surprise. "I'm very well, thank you."

"That's good!" she says, suddenly shy.

I sit, tapping my feet, while Holly looks at her hands. I wait for two more minutes before coughing and standing. She mirrors me, looking a little nervous. "Well, I'm sorry, but we are out of time. But I hope we can do this again soon" I said. She gave me a bright smile and a curtsy. Then she retreated to her seat and I called the next girl.

"Lady Jean Louise Finch" I said. A country girl with short brown hair walked up to me. She didn't curtsy and I didn't bow. We just kind of stood formally until I sat down. She followed suit, and started staring at me.

"Ummm... hello?" I said, staring back at her.

"Hia!" she said, with a faint southern drawl. She didn't offer anything more.

"So... you're a four, correct."

"Yep'em, your highness, that I am." she said and fell silent again.

I check my watch. "Ok, well, we are out of time, but, ummm... well, good day."

She tried and failed at a flirtatious smile, and sat back down.

I called the next girl up. "Lady Lillian Luna".

A petite blond arose and walked gracefully toward me. She carried herself like my mother did, and gave me a small smile and a curtsy. I bowed, lower that I had with Holly.

"Your highness, it is an honor." she says in a soft tone.

"The honor is mine, lady Lilly, but please sit." she seated herself comforatably on the couch and I did the same.

"So, Lady Lilly" I said, feeling more talkative around her, "Tell me about yourself. What do you like to do for fun?"

Her voice shakes a little, but she stays pretty calm. "Well, I take care of my 5 younger siblings. And I love to read."

I'm amazed. "5 younger siblings! If I had 5 Lizzies, I would die!"

She giggles slightly. "Well, yah, it's a lot sometimes, but I enjoy working with kids."

Our time has run out, but I'm reluctant to let Lilly go. She's my favorite girl so far. But, there was still 32 more girls to go. "I'm very sorry, Lady Lilly, but I must go now. But, I hope to see you very soon." She curtsys again, and the next girl comes up.

"Lady Sabrina Rose, I take it" I say to the tall, willowy girl that comes up for the next interview. She's an actress, and Lizzie watchs her movies all the time. Not that that should count against her, but I sort of have a bias. Not her fault, but those movies have cause me a TON of pain.

"Lady Sabrina, a pleasure" I tell her. She holds out her hand, as if expecting me to kiss it, and I reluctantly oblige.

"Your highness, the pleasure is all mine!" she says, in a voice as sweet as sugar. She bats her eyelashes in what was supposed to be a flirtatious way, but she ends up looking more like a horse.

"Umm... sure." I say, and gesture to the chair. She perches on it like she wants to be as close to me as possible. It's a little creepy, actually. "So, Lady Sabrina, how have you been?"

"I've been great! I just finished filming my newest movie, and then I got the call that I had made it in the Selection. It's been peachy, just peachy!" she says, and gives me another toothy grin.

"That's great" I tell her, loosing a little bit of confidence when my voice comes out shaking. "But, I'm sorry to say that we're out of time."

Her hand jolts out suddenly and grabs my leg. It hurts as her nails dig slightly into my leg. "Oh, just another minute! I want to talk to you some more, darling!"

I jolt back a little point, but try to keep the grossed look of my face. "I'm sorry, but I need to interview the next girl." Sabrina sighs and goes back to her seat, a little sulkily.

I consult the list and yell, "Lady Hannah Skylar Rosemary". No one comes up. "Lady Hannah?" I question the girls. "Where the heck is Lady Hannah!" I yell, losing my temper.

The royal instructor, Megan Brown, sidles up to me. "Your highness, Hannah sent us word this morning. There has been a sudden, ummm... development, in her health. She will no longer be partisipating in the Selection, as she has just been informed that she cannot bear a child.

Ohhhhh... I feel so bad right now. Poor Hannah. I couldn't imagine being chosen and then told she couldn't go. But, I can't help but think one girl down.

"Alright, well, as Miss Hannah will not be joining us, we will move to the next girl. Lady Kamri McGrove, please come up.". A dark haired girl, with an intense stare comes up. She gives me a formal curtsy, but doesn't smile.

"Well, Lady Kamri, hello" I say, trying to get the shake out of my voice.

She stares at me intently, but doesn't speak.

"Tell me a little about yourself" I say, a little annoyed she's not speaking. She stares at me blankly and refuses to answer the question.

"Don't say much, do you?" I ask. She nods curtly.

"Well, we're out of time, so I'm going to have to ask you to go back to your seat." I grumble. She nods again and returns to her seat. Well, that was weird.

Without really thinking, I call the next girl's name. "Macyn Chevalier". I'm relieved to see the pretty Frech girl from Calgary walk up. She smiles warmly, and holds out her hand. At first, I think she wants a kiss, but she shakes my hand instead.

"Hello, your highness. You haven't died yet, I see" she says with a laugh.

I chuckle. "Not yet, but you're only my sixth girl to interview"

She shrugs, "Well, if poor Hannah had been here, it would have been seven."

"Yes, unfortunate for her. I felt horrible when I tried to yell at her. I had no idea."

Macyn puts her hand on mine. "It wasn't your fault at all! You have so many of us, no one could keep us all straight. I wouldn't worry about it!"

There's something comforting about her hand. It's so small and warm, but I can feel the strength. I really like this girl. She's definaltly my favorite so far, but as I said, she's only my sixth girl.

"I'm so sorry, Maycn, but the clock has run out. I look forward to seeing you soon, though!" I tell her, my saddness aparant in my voive. She smiles, curtsies, and walks back to her seat. I'm struck by her beauty, but I shake myself. "Riley Greeves"

A girl comes up, very tall and brawny. But then again, she's a four and works on a farm. I can't say I'm not a little intimidated though...

"Lady Riley, please take a seat." I say, even though she's already sat down. I sit back on my chair, and try for a smile. It turns out like more of a grimace, though. "So, Lady Riley, what do you like to do for fun?"

"Well, your royal highness or whatever, I like to wear pants." she says, very earnestly. I'm a little taken aback. Megan, who is standing close enough to hear the interviews shakes her head and walks away. I continue, trying not to laugh.

"Pants, you say. And why, inparticular?" I ask her, mimicking the intense look on her face. She is obviously very intense about pants.

"Yes sir, pants! I love pants. None of them ol' dresses for me, no sirrie! I'll be wear'n some pants till the day I die."

Ok, well, this is probably the weirdest conversation I've ever had. I mean, people can have hobbies, but what kind of a hobby is wearing pants. "Well, good for you. But I'm afraid I must ask you to leave, as we are out of time." I tell the odd girl. She gets up and walks away without a curtsy. I roll my eyes and then turn back to my list.

The next girl is Caitlin Nicole Gunderson. She seems to be a nice enough person, but a little quiet. Not like Kamri, just not explicit with her answers.

"So, Caitlin, do you have any siblings?" I ask, remembering Lillian and her 5 younger brothers and sisters.

Caitlin nods. "Yes, I have an older sister named Margret and a little brother named George."

"What's your favorite movie?" I ask, deciding it's my interview and I can be random if I want to be.

"I don't like watching movies. I'd rather read."

"Ok, well, we're out of time, sorry. Please make your way back to your seat." I tell the blonde.

"Ok, well, see you later, I guess." she says, with a small smile.

"Or not!" I say, wondering if she should leave or not. I put the question out of my mind and call up Adelie Mitchell.

"Hello, your highness" she says, with a bright smile. At least she's friendly.

"Hello! Lady Adelie, it's a pleasure." I say, and gesture towards the chair.

"You can call me Addy, if you'd like. Everyone does. Are you glad you're almost at the halfway point?"

I nodded, smiling. "It's sorta hard to interview 35 girls. I don't have enough time to do anything."

Addy smiled. "I have an idea. Let's do 2 truths and a lie! I'll go first:

1. I have 10 siblings

2. I've always been in love with the crown prince of Illea

and

3. I hate cats."

"Hmm... I'm going to say the truth is that you hate cats."

She smiled. "Nope!"

Megan coughed to say that time ran out, but as Addy stood up I grabbed her hand. "You have 10 siblings!" I said agast.

She smiled, a really pretty smile. "Nope, I'm an only child!" she says, before winking and walking back to her seat, leaving me to figure out what she means.

**Hope you all liked it. There's one more chapter before you get the first elimination chapter. Comment, follow, and favorite! It's fun, I promise. Also, do to a request from a few people and the time of the month, we WILL have a Halloween party. You can submit a costume, or costume idea, but I can't promise that I'll remember. But, still, I think it'll be fun! Ok guys, see you next time! And OMG! 2,580 words!**

**~Zanzi**


	27. Chapter 25

**Hi everyone! Happy weekend! I've been up since 5:45 this morning. Yay horse shows! But, still. Now I'm going to relax. My brother's home on a break from college, so I may or may not be updating more often. But, today I got into the a Capella club. They needed Altos and I'm a Soprano 1, but whatever! I'll be updating this, my Selection Songfic/oneshot collection (shoutout to Nova for reading that!), my lab rats SYOC, and my original story, One Last Melody. That's on Wattpad, under my account name PaigeMHolly. No promises, but if you comment/follow/favorite on any of those, you may have a surprise ;) **

**Ok, here's the reports, part 2. I know some of you wanted longer interviews, but most the characters in the chapter were mine, or I didn't have a ton of info on them. But I made them a little longer in this chapter! Also, I put in a couple of amazing quotes I've found/seen. It really just makes the whole chapter. **

**Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed last time! Love you guys to pieces!**

Chapter 25- The Interviews (Duh duh duh!), Part 2

~~~Chase's POV~~~

After Addy's shocking interview, I was a little bit calmer. At least someone didn't hate my guts. Someone even liked me! How weird is that?!

But either way, I had to move on. I called the next girl. "Fern Thompson". A pretty girl, obviously used to being admired, strutted up to me. She curtsied and I bowed, before offering her the chair. She sat, and gave me what was supposed to be a flirtatious smile.

"Hi, your majesty! How are you today?" she purred like a cat.

"Ummm... very well. How are you, Lady Fern?" I said. I tried not to focus on her face, to stop myself from blushing. My eyes landed on her chest, and I blushed anyway. Why did I have to get flustered now? But no man is immune to something like that. She wasn't exactly hiding her breasts in that low cut purple dress.

Fern bats her eyelashes innocently. "Oh yes, it's been just deeeeelightful!"

Ok, then. Does she not now that smiling like that makes her look like a horse? Is that the look she's going for? Well, she deserves an interview I guess, too. Maybe she'll get better with time. It can't really get much worse.

"Sooo, what do you like to do for fun, Lady Fern?"

"Well, of course, I like to act. I am an actress by trade. But I'm sure you knew that. My movies are very big!" Fern says, coming across as very arrogant.

I stutter. "Well, I've seen a few." Don't look at the chest, don't look at the chest, DON'T LOOK AT THE CHEST!

"Ummm... soooo." I manage to say, "I'm sure your very anxious to get to breakfast, so I'll let you go." I stand up and nod my head. She frowns a bit, but goes back to her seat.

"Lady Lucilia Keane" I call for the next girl. A beautiful girl with light brown hair darts across the room to me, moving swiftly but elegantly. She curtsies and I bow. My legs are sore at this point from all the sitting/standing business.

"Your majesty" she squeals in a high pitched tone, "It's an honor!"

"You smell really good!" I blurt out randomly. Ok, not the best way to meet someone, but true. She has a rich, sweet smell which makes me feel like I'm in the tropics.

Instead of being offended, Lucilia laughs. "Thank you", she says with a playful grin, "I'm glad you weren't like, allergic to it, or anything."

It's my turn to laugh. "That probably would have been awkward! But, I mean, even an allergic reaction would be better than me laying down and dying."

She almost falls out of her chair. "Imagine that! Death by perfume! I would be executed, I think."

I wave my hand. "Doubtful, probably just canned."

She rolls her eyes. "Well, if it's only canning..."

I like this girl. She makes me laugh. But, as I check my watch, I realize we're out of time.

"I'm so, so sorry, Lady Lucilia, but I'm afraid we are out of time. But I'm sure I'll talk to you soon." I say, winking at her.

She smiles, and doesn't manage to stifle her giggle. "Well, you know, my poison perfume needs to simmer a little longer." I laugh at her joke and barely stop myself from waving as she walks away. I like the fact she's so down-to-earth, but I have to remember that I'm the Prince.

I call the next girl. "Lady Josephine Stewart." A tall girl with dark brown hair walks up to me. She curtsies and, per the norm, I bow.

"Hello Lady Josephine."

"Hello, your highness. Would you like to me to introduce myself?" she asks, waving a notecard in front of my face.

"Sure, go ahead." I say, relieved that I won't have to ask all the questions.

She clears her throat and begin to speak. "Hello. My name is Josephine Mary Stewart, but I go by Jo. I'm 19 years old. I like to read and write. I also like to be outside. I have 3 siblings. I entered the Selection and met you. The End." She looks up and smiles at me.

"Very, ummm, interesting!" I say generously, because it really wasn't.

"Thank you. I will go sit down now." She leaves and walks away.

"Odd girl that one!" I mumble to myself, before the next girl comes up.

"Hi, I'm Annelyse!" a pretty girl with long brown hair walks up, and shakes my hand.

"Hi Lady Annelyse" I say, "I'm Prince Chase."

She shakes her head. "You can call me Annie if you want. A lot easier to say than Anneylse."

I smile at her, but I'm a little on edge. She wears purple-framed glasses around her eyes, that magnify them. She's very pretty, but I wonder why she didn't choose to get rid of them.

"Why didn't you get contacts?" I ask. Then I look down. That sounded a little rude. "Sorry, that came out wrong."

The girl waves her hand, clearly not offended. "Don't worry about it. I thought about getting contacts, but I decided I wanted to look unique. No one else has glasses". She gestured to the other girls in the room.

"I like them." I tell her. And I did. They made her green eyes look exceptionally bright.

"Thanks!" she smiles at me. "I thought it would be easier to tell me apart. I don't know how your going to memorize all these names."

"Me neither." I tell her. "How embarrassing would be if I called one girl something else."

She giggles. "See, yah, that would be bad. But maybe you could say something like, 'I'm sorry. You look so much like a girl I used to know'. Then you could smile a winning smile and maybe wink. That would work, at least on me."

I give her a winning smile and wink, and she swats me gently. "You are a troublemaker!" she laughs.

"Nooooooo..." I say innocently.

"I'm going to back away slowly now!" she says, getting up. She walks away backwards, giving me a fake evil eye as she does.

I laugh again, but turn back to the list. Time for the next girl. "Lady Nova Northgale" I call. The only eight in the competition gets out of her chair, and walks shyly toward me.

"Hi, your highness." she says in a soft voice.

"Hello, Lady Nova" I say. I bow, but she sits down without curtsying.

She won't look at me, but speaks in her soft little voice. "Umm... if it's all the same to you, your highness, can you just call me Nova please? I'm not much of a lady."

"Ok, Nova. But your here, so you are a lady now. I know it will be a slight adjustment from being an eight, but it will eventually sink in. You won't be as royal as me, anyway!" I say.

She looks at me, her brilliant eyes shinning with what looks like tears. Oh no! I made her cry! I'm going to get in such trouble. But the tears stay in her eyes, and she doesn't let them fall out. Instead, she speaks.

"I'm sorry, your highness, but you don't understand. Yes, I do have the most to adjust to. I'm not used to dresses, or perfume, or my own room. But, if I leave as soon as I probably will, it will be much harder to adjust back. Where I come from, I'm beaten, and kicked, and screamed at everyday. How will I adjust from almost-princess back to scum-of-the-earth? Do you know how it feels to be an eight? No, I suppose you don't as you've been a prince your whole life. I'll tell you, then. It feels like alone. Not loneliness, alone. You have no one, nobody, and nothing who loves you. No one to wipe your tears when you cry, which is basically every night. You are the dirt on the street. Someone's footrest. People like you sit and think to yourself when things get tough 'Well, at least I'm not an eight!'. But what can I think! I am an eight. All I can think is that tomorrow will come. And finally, when you think someone loves you, he goes and stomps on your heart. He sends you to prison for something you didn't do. And he gets rich and famous all because of you. And you just get poorer and poorer and poorer. And then, you think something good happens, but the 'Prince' turns out to be an arrogant toe-rag like you! So excuse me, your highness for not bending over and kissing your feet. Or thanking you for everything I have! So thank you, your majesty! Thank you for NOTHING!"

By the end of her speech, the girl was almost shouting. Wow... what a horrible life I've given her. Wait, what!? No! It's not my fault! How dare she yell at me for that! I want to scream at her back, but she gets up and walks away. I shake myself off. Still many more girls to go...

"Lady Victoria Lynn Scotts" I say in a monotone. Nova really took a lot out of me. But this next girl looks a little nicer.

"Hello Lady Victoria"

"Bonjour, your highness!" she greets me.

"Oh, are you French?" I ask her.

She laughs, "No no! I just felt the need to say that."

"Oh, well, still! If you're not from France, where are from, Lady Victoria?"

"Well, first call me Tori. And I'm from Labrador, basically as far North as you can get in Illea."

"Is it cold there?" I ask.

"Oh yes! In the winter, it can drop down to below zero." she tells me.

"Wow! That is cold! But is it nice there?"

She bites her lip. "What?" I ask.

"Well, I don't know if it's nice there. I've never lived anywhere else." she explains.

"I know what you mean." I tell her. "Just like I don't know how to live anywhere but the palace"

She nods. "Yes, exactly!"

I look at the time. "I'm sorry, Lady Tori, but we are out of time." I say with a rue smile.

"I understand." she says, before smiling and going back to her seat.

HALF DONE! Yes! Or, more than half, maybe. I lost count. Let's go, homeward bound. My stomach growls, but I ignore it and say, "Lady Josephine Maxfield."

Josephine walks up to me, and I immediately notice one serious change from her first picture. "Your hair isn't blue anymore. And oh, do you have a nickname. There are a lot of Josephines here."

She gives a large sigh. "Yah, my name's Josie. And yep, they made me change the blue... it sucked."

"Why was it blue in the first place?" I wonder.

"My friends and I were protesting what the stuck up ones and two think is beautiful in a woman." she says, very bluntly. I just kinda gape at her. "Oh, no offense."

"Umm... sure. Whatever. But why blue?"

She looks at me like I'm an idiot. "Blue's my favorite color, duh!"

I smile. "It's my favorite color too!"

She almost smiles, but seems to think better of it. Instead, she shrugs. "It's a lot of people's favorite color."

"True..." I admit. Then we just sit there for another minute, twiddling our thumbs.

"Sorry, I'm going to have to ask you to go." I tell her.

"I didn't really want to be here in the first place." she says cooly.

"Fine. But first I have to ask, why the hair? Why not the fashion?"

"I didn't have money for that. I could barely afford the dye. And hey, when life gives you lemons, make grape juice and leave the world wondering where you got it." she says, finally breaking a smile.

I laugh. "Very good point. I think I like your motto, Lady Josie."

"Too bad!" she chuckles, "I copyrighted it."

"I'm pretty sure I could overrule that." I say winking. She laughs, and goes back to her seat.

Only a few more girls to go!

**Sorry, it's sorta short for an interview, but I needed the rest to be in the next chapter. Were those a better length though? Remember to review, follow, and favorite! I'll try to do shoutouts next time. Thanks! Y'all rock!**

**~Zanzi**


	28. Chapter 26

**Hi guys! *looks scared* Please don't kill me! I know, I know, it took a long time to update! But I'm busy! I was failing English, so I had to bump that up. Yep, my essay was "too fancy for my grade". That's what my teacher told my mom. Sooo... yah.**

**Last of the interview chapters! Thank The Lord! Not that I don't like writing them, but they are so LONG! This is my longest chapter EVER, I think! Enjoy! I actually had to skip to of my characters, because I just couldn't think of ideas. I'm sorry. I did write for all the OCs, though. **

**Shout out to Shades for being awesome! And a soprano with me! And having a twin! XD **

**Also shout out to the guest who just reviewed like 30 minutes ago! Thank you and here's your update! Like the longest update ever!**

**Chapter 26- The Interviews, Part 3 (FINALLY)!**

~~~Chase's POV~~~

My stomach's seriously growling by the next girl, Lady Skyla Grace. I just want to go to breakfast! Can't these stupid girls wait for a little? Please!

But the next girl doesn't look like she wants to be here much either. She curtsies politely, doesn't look me in the eye.

"So, Lady Skyla is it?" I ask the petite blond.

"Umm.. Sky, actually. I detest the name Skyla, to be honest." she says, a little shyly.

I laugh, pleased by her honesty. "Well then, Sky. You're the girl who sang, right? For the send-off?"

She blushes scarlet. I didn't even know people could go so red.

"Ohhh... you saw that?" Sky asks, and she won't look at me in the eyes.

"My dear, I think all of Illea saw it." I say, and then realize that probably wasn't the best thing to tell her. Hehehe... oops.

She throws her hands up in the air. "Oh great! Now all of Illea knows I suck!"

"No no!" I try to console her. "I liked it! I thought you were incredible."

She goes back to being scarlet. "Oh, thanks." she looks up at me and gives me a shy smile.

"So, Lady Sky, you're a five, correct? That must be why your good at singing. So, uhhh, how's life at home." That sounded so stupid, I want to slap myself.

Sky smiles wider and laughs. "Oh, well, pretty normal, I think. My older brother Aiden is working in a textile factory. My mom is probably hanging on every word of the Selection. My little brother Elliot is most likely playing card games, and my little sisters Lily and Rose and probably coloring on the walls."

I smile. "Are you close with all of them?"

"Fairly close. Lily likes me more than Rose does, Elliot doesn't seem to like anyone much, and Aiden and I are best friends. He's only a year older than me, see."

"Ahhh... what about your father?" I ask her.

"My father passed away 3 years ago." she tells me.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." I say, feeling embarrassed that I asked her.

"Don't be. It's ok." she says.

"My grandfather passed away before I was even born. I never knew him. I heard he was a great man though. My mother speaks very highly of him, and so does my father." I find myself telling the girl. Great... now I'm revealing private info to these girls. What is wrong with me!?

Sky reaches forward and touches my arm. Not in a flirtatious way, like the others, just in a sweet way. Then she stands up and curtsies. "Megan looks like she's giving me the death glare! I should probably go."

"Ahhh, yes. Well, I'm sure I'll see you soon." I watch as she walks back to her seat. She's a sweet girl, that's for sure. But maybe not my type. No time to think, though. Still way to many girls left. I call the next girl, a Lady Alyssa Ferrer.

A brown haired girl with big blue eyes comes up. She's not exceptionally pretty, but cute enough. "How do you do, Lady Alyssa?"

"I'm fine, your highness." she replies in a clipped tone. "How are you?"

"Very well, thank you. A little hungry though." I say. She seems a little rude, but maybe she's just nervous.

"Yes, I agree. If we could move this along, that would be nice." she tells me. Ok, she is a little rude. Good to know.

"Ok, then. Well, feel free to leave whenever you want. I'm just going to ask you a few questions."

"Oh, I'm sorry. That came out wrong. I'm just so nervous!" she says, apologizing.

"It's quite alright. I'm a little nervous as well."

"So, Alyssa. You look a little familiar. Have I seen you before?" I ask the brunette.

"Oh, well, I worked as a soldier here at the castle. Maybe I saw you. But also, I run a line of women's fashion. You may have seen the ads on TV."

I don't remember seeing any ads, or her around the castle, but I don't tell her that. "Ok," I say, looking for a change of topic, "What is your favorite food."

"White chocolate mouse with a raspberry sauce and fresh whipped cream." she says immediately.

"Wow! Specific. A little picky are we!" I tease.

The girl looked down. "It was my sister's favorite food." she said quietly. "Excuse me, I have to go." she stands up, curtsies, and nearly runs back to her seat.

Well, that was weird. I must have said something. Yikes!

"Lady Miranda" I call, hoping for the best.

A tall, dark haired young woman walked up. She wore a bright red dress, tight fitting, with a slit up the right side. "Heylo Prince Chase!"

She has just a twinge of a Southern accent, and, well, let's just say, doesn't leave much to the imagination. It's all out there. The dress is sparkly at the top, and it makes me want to look. Oh lord, it's Fern all over again!

"Umm... hello, Lady Miranda. How are you?" I ask, a little nervous for the answer.

"I'm just peachy, hon'. Just peachy. It's such an honor to be here with all y'all. Much better than where I've lived before." she chirps.

"That's great! I'm glad your enjoying yourself. So, tell me about your family. How is your life like at home?"

"Well, can I be honest? Is that ok?" she asks, and she sounds a little more shy.

"Yes, I promise that your answer will not get you eliminated. I will only eliminate you based on whether or not I connect with you."

"Ok." she nods. "Well, if I'm being honest, Prince Chase, not so well. I come from a broken home. My father got up and left my mom, sister, and I several years ago. My mom and my sister are both sixes, so they treat me like dirt on their shoes. I work as a burlesque dancer, so maybe they have a good reason too. I was going to be engaged to a nice boy, from a higher class, but he couldn't handle the commitment. He left me in the gutter and ran off with a tramp. I hadn't seen him for a year or more, but he shows up and begs for me back at my send-off."

I lean forward in my seat. "This sounds like a movie! Then what happens?"

"Oh well." she says in a bored tone, "While he was on his knees pledging his eternal love to me, I spit in his face."

I fall out of my chair, I'm laughing so hard. This girl is hilarious! I love it! She's so easy to talk to. She is definitely staying for a little bit. "So," I say, gasping for air, "This jerk comes back and you spit in his face. That sounds normal. You seem like kind of a violent person."

She nods. "Oh yes! Once, my dad snuck in the house and tried to rob us, and I hit him over the head with a frying pan. It made a very pleasant sound, too." she gives me a cocky smile. "I don't want to brag, but I could probably take down all these girls like that. Just saying."

I pretend to scoot back in my chair some more. Miranda laughs. "Maybe I shouldn't keep you around. But, then again, I'm scared you may beat me up if I let you go." I tell her.

"Oh yes." she says, cracking her knuckles. But she smiles to show me it's a joke.

Megan looks over at me and taps her watch, but I ignore her. I don't care if I run a little long for one interview.

"Soooo... other than that, why did you sign up for the Selection." I try bragging, "I mean, I know I'm awesome, but still."

She laughs. "Well, sure hon'. But, I just sorta wanted to get away! I mean, life can get so tough so times." I love the way she pronounces can't. It sounds like kent. It's adorable.

"I totally agree. And unfortunately, it's about to get a little harder for me. I'm sad to say, we're out of time." I tell her.

"Aww! That's too bad. But I can't wait to see yah again, your highness!" She gets up, smiles, and walks away. I'm sorta sad to see her go.

"Lady Grace" I read the name off the list.

A tiny, blond girl almost ran up to me. Wow, she's energetic. "Hello, Lady Grace." I say as she bounces up and down on the balls of her toes. "You must be very happy to see me."

She laughs. "Actually, I really just have to use the bathroom." she jokes.

"Oh, well!" I laugh. "Please at least try to contain yourself, both literally and figuratively." She laughs as well, and sits in the chair next to me.

"So, Lady Grace, it says here that you're a seamstress. Does this mean you will be sewing your own dresses?"

She smiles. "Well, if you'd like to date a girl wearing a paper bag, I could."

I must shake my head a little too hard, because she giggles. "Kidding, kidding! I've graduated from paper bags a while back. Now I can do some simple scarfs."

"Aren't scarves just one long pice of fabric you cut, and sew the edges?" I question.

"Yep!" Grace says cheerfully.

I laugh. "You'll have to make me one sometime! I'm both excited and nervous to see your work."

She grins. "Sure. I'll give you a Christmas present. What's your favorite color?"

"Blue." I say, without really thinking.

"But that's so boring! At least pick a shade of blue!" she chides me.

"Fine! How about a light baby blueish color?"

"Better! I'll write it down."

"I was kidding, you know." I say.

"I know. I wasn't." she teases.

"What's your favorite color?" I ask.

"Periwinkle. Or maybe magenta." she tells me.

"Such complicated colors." I say.

"I'm a complicated girl!" she tells me.

"I don't doubt it. I'll have to learn more about it later though. I fear we are out of time." I tell her. She gives one final smile and bounces back to her seat.

"Lady Katherine" I call next.

A pretty girl comes up, curtsies, and sits down. "Hi, your highness. I'm Katie." she introduces herself.

"Hello, Lady Katie. I'm Prince Chase."

She smiles. "I may have known that. Just a little."

I fake a confused look. "Really?"

She laughs. "Oh well, you were on TV once or twice."

"Really?" I ask again.

"Really!" she giggles.

"I never knew!" I tease her.

"Hmmm... I'm no doctor, but I'd say you have a problem if you don't remember this stuff."

"Ehhh! Long term memory loss." I wave my hand.

"You may want to have that looked at." she says with a fake solemn nod.

"Yah... I do want to remember 35 beautiful girls!"

"Beautiful girls are such trouble, though." Katherine tells me thoughtfully.

I smile and attempt to flirt, "I can't see you being too much trouble."

She blushes scarlet, but laughs. "I'm going to go now! Before you try anything else." She wags her finger at me, winks, and retreats to her seat.

The next girl is Lady Celine Winchester, the two from Clermont. She greets me with a silent nod and a small curtsy.

"Lady Celine, I'm glad to see you've recovered from the gymnastic incident. Did it feel good to get your cast off?" I ask, hoping to break the ice.

"Yes, it did, but can we please not talk about that now?" she says in a curt tone.

"Why?" I wonder.

"Well, it's a little embarrassing for me. I've talked about it enough with news crews, so I would really appreciate not talking about it here."

"Ok. I'm sorry. I meant no offense." I lie smoothly, as I am really not sorry. I'm the prince, and can talk about whatever I want.

"It's fine. I was not offended." she tells me. She sounds pretty stuck up, but the public wouldn't like it if we eliminated a two.

We sit in silence for a little, before I work up the nerve to ask another question. "So... what's your favorite color?"

She looks at me like the question is beneath her. What? Can't a guy ask? "Hot pink." she tells me. Ugh! People actually like that color?

"Well, this has been fun Celine, but I'm afraid we are out of time." I tell her, lying again. This was not exactly what I would call fun.

"Ok." she gets up and leaves. Wow! Odd girl... I mean, who doesn't want to talk to me. I'm awesome!

I'm too busy contemplating that question to really pay attention to the next few girls. Lizeth and Annabelle were both nice. Annabelle was much quieter and shy, where Lizeth was a lot more like Grace. I asked the girls what their favorite colors were and they both said green. Lizeth liked emerald green, though, and Annabelle liked more of a teal. I don't remember the rest though. All I know is that I liked Lizeth much more than Annabelle.

The next girl up was Mary Jo Morsoe. The brown haired girl look basically like every other girl out there. She was wearing a floor length cream colored dress with a purple scarf. The look didn't much suit her.

"Hello, your highness." she said in a rather bored tone, as if she met the crown prince of Illea every day.

"Hello, Lady Mary Jo." I said. She sat, looking rather bored. She offered no conversation starters, and neither did I. By number 27, you'd think I'd be better with these things. Should I ask her what her favorite color is?

"Are you looking forward to breakfast, Lady Mary Jo?". I'm officially an idiot.

"Not particularly. I'm not much of a big eater." she says, concealing a yawn.

WHO DOESN'T EAT!? I mean, the food is pretty much the best thing at the palace! Why would you not be excited for that?! This girl has to be completely insane! Or allergic to everything on earth. Or both. Either way, she's gotta go!

"I'm sorry to here that. The food here is quite delicious." I say, feeling a little defensive of my home.

She yawns again. "I'll take your word for it. Is that all? Can I go now?

"Yes. You may go." I say, a little testily. She gets up and leaves, not bothering to cover another yawn.

"And never come back..." I mumble before calling the next girl. "Lady Angel-Lynn".

Angel-Lynn turns out to be much friendlier than Mary Jo. Actually, she's way way WAY friendlier. She sits down on the edge of her seat, and stares at me. I start to wonder if she knows how to blink.

"Um, hi. Lady Angel-Lynn."

"Oh, call me Angel! All my friends do, and I'm sure we're going to be good friends!" she says, putting a great deal of emphasis on friends. I try to catch Megan's eye but she isn't looking at me. Come on! Isn't she like, the girls' guidance consoler or something? Could she take Angel away? 'Cause she's kinda starting to creep me out!

"Umm.. yes. Sure. Yah. So, Lady Angel, what's your favorite color?"

"What's yours?" she asks, sliding forward in her seat.

"Ummm... blue."

"Mine too!" she squeals. Megan looks over at the noise and I try to give her a 'help-me-this-girl-is-crazy' look. Strangely, she doesn't get the message.

"Ok. What a coincidence. What about your favorite animal?"

"What's yours?" she breathes, hanging on every word I say.

"Ummm... pandas!" I invent wildly. They aren't but that was pretty much the best thing I could think of.

"ME TOO!" she squeals again. Megan walks away in disgust. I almost want to yell after her, but I restrain myself.

I wonder if I could say anything, and this girl would agree with me. "Pandas are adorable! You know what else is cute, alligators."

"Oh my gosh, yes! Alligators are the cutest!" she agrees. Man, she's good. Has she taken stalker lessons? Alright, time to up the stakes.

"Aren't they!? I love how they take down enemies! Did you know, that they could eat a human if they wanted to? I find that fascinating."

"Yes! I especially love that part!" she says, but it takes her a little more time to come up with the response.

"Do you know that I actually have alligators here in the castle?"

"You do? Can I, umm..., see them". Her smile slips off her face. She doesn't look like she really wants to see them. Good, it was a lie anyway.

"I'm sorry, but I only let my victims see them. I just love the screams they make when I throw a person in." I say, trying so hard not to grin. Take that, little Miss Stalker.

She gasps, then screams, and runs out the door crying. Megan chases after her. All the girls are looking at me. I wave like this is entirely normal.

"Lady Aspen" I call through the shocked room, "Would you like to be next?"

A willowy redhead walks up. Actually, she struts up. She's obviously a modal, or an actress, or something.

"Hello Lady Aspen. How are you today?" I ask, pretending nothing happened.

"I go by Brooklyn, actually. Not Aspen." she cuts me off

"Ok, sorry. How are you Lady Brooklyn?"

"I'm very well, your highness. I'm very glad to be here. My outfit looks just stunning, doesn't it. In fact, I may be the prettiest girl out here.". She's wearing a pale pink skater dress, with a pattern of fushia stars all over it. The whole dress sparkles. But, she's less pretty after just complementing herself.

"You do look lovely!" I compliment. "What's your favorite color?"

"I like all shades of pink".

"Oh, that's nice!" I lie. Inwardly, I sigh. Such a girl answer.

"What about your favorite animal?" I ask, running out of things to say.

"I like cats." she says, flipping her red hair around so it catches the light. I can't help but stare. She is stunning. Her personality just isn't at pretty.

"Cats are pretty cute, but I'm more of a dog person myself."

"Do you have a dog?" she questions. At first, I think she's being polite, but then she continues. "I can't be around anything that dumb."

I try to make a joke. "You'll have to stay away from my sister then."

She doesn't laugh.

"Ok, sorry. Umm.. yes, we'll make sure our dogs stay well away from you."

"Thank you. I think I will actually go talk to Megan about that right now." she stands up and leaves. I'm relieved.

"Lady Christine" I call. A blond girl in a green sundress comes up. Seeing as it's late September, I don't know what she's doing in a sundress. Her maids must not be doing their job.

"Hello, Lady Christine. How are you today?" I ask, praying to God that this interview will be short.

"I'm very well, your highness. I'm sure your probably done with interviews, aren't you?"

"Yes!" I say, then quickly correct myself. "But I enjoy meeting you all."

She laughs, realizing my mistake. "It's ok!" she lowers her voice, "I would rather go eat breakfast." she grins.

I smile. "Me too." I agree.

"What if, instead of an interview, I tell you my favorite breakfast food, you tell me yours, and we'll call it good?" she suggests.

"Brilliant idea! So, what is your favorite breakfast food. Myself, I personally love hash browns."

She smiles. "Hash browns are delicious, but personally, I love chocolate chip crepes."

"WHAT ARE THOSE!?" I almost shout. They sound so good. So. good.

"They're like really thin pancakes from France, and you put ingredients in them and roll them up like a burrito. Or a taquito."

"I so want one." I moan, licking my lips. "Like, right now!"

She laughs. "Only 4 more girls after me. I'll have to make them sometime, after we've both eaten first."

"I'll wait for it eagerly!" I tell her. She gets up, curtsies, and walks away.

"Lady Hana" I call. Please, please, please let this be short!

Hana is sweet, but a little impatient. The first thing she asks me is "Is this going to take long?"

God I hope not! But I tell her, "I don't think so. I just want to know what your favorite color is and what your favorite breakfast food is."

"Purple and waffles. Can I go now?" she says hurriedly.

"Sure. Why not?" I say. She gets up and almost runs back to her seat. At first I think she's rude, but then I she her trying to console a girl with raven hair in a midnight blue dress. The girl must be Zoey the next girl. Megan walks over to Zoey and tries to convince her to come see me. She shakes her head and cries harder.

"I'll excuse her." I say quietly when Megan comes over. "She can go home right now."

"Yes, your highness." Megan says, and goes to tell Zoey the news.

"Lady Stella" I call. Oh great. Lizzie's trainer. The interview I LEAST wanted to do.

"Hello, your highness." Stella says, with a graceful curtsy. She's friendlier than I expected.

She looks beautiful, in a violet dress that matches her eyes perfectly.

"Your dress matches your eyes." I blurt out.

She smiles. "Yes, that was sort of what I was going for."

"Ohhh..." I say, like an idiot.

There's a full minute of silence.

"Is this as awkward for you as it is for me?" Stella asks.

"Yes!" I say laughing. "I don't even know what to say."

"So you have the opposite problem than Lizzie." she says with a grin.

"I know! That kid doesn't know when to shut up! It's so annoying!"

Stella laughs. "I'd call it endearing."

"You don't live with her, now do you." I say, teasing.

Stella teases back. "True. I'm sure in this small of a house, you run into her all the time."

It's my turn to laugh. "More than I'd like to, though."

She laughs again. She has a pretty laugh, high and sweet. Lizzie says she's a good singer. Now I know why she says that..

"Well, do you want to stick around and continue this awkwardness, or should I let you go back to your seat."

"It depends. Will it count against me if I say I'd rather leave?" she asks.

"It would probably count against you if you asked to stay" I joke.

"Well, then I'll leave! See you, your highness." she says, getting up and leaving.

ONE MORE GIRL TO GO! And it's the crowd favorite! Lady Alaska Kendell, the famous jockey.

"How do you do, Lady Alaska?" I say, when the beautiful girl walks up to me. "You do look stunning today!"

She did look beautiful. She was wearing a simple silver dress, but it looked perfect on her skin tone. It was loose fitting and made of a lacey material, which looked pretty on the skinny jockey. She wasn't very tall, only about 5'2, but she seemed to light up the whole room. I had already liked this girl, but her being the last one helped a lot.

She blushed a little, but I could tell she was pleased by the compliment. "Thank you, your majesty!" she said in a smooth voice.

"Your very welcome. So, Lady Alaska, I've seen your face before. You're known as the most fashionable jockey on the track, I here from my little sister. To be honest, you are quite her idol."

"Well, thank her for me, will you! She seems very sweet." she says, twirling her dark hair, which was left down and curled, around her finger.

"I'm sure you can thank her yourself! You'll most likely meet her before the Selection is done." I tell her. I can't help but notice her smile drops a little. Maybe she's not good with kids. Who knows?

"I'm excited for that." she says, but not sounding very excited at all.

"Tell me about being a jockey. Do you like it? What's your horse's name?" I ask her, changing the subject away from Lizzie.

"Being a jockey is fun and challenging. It's a really hard profession to be a girl in, though. But I wouldn't change it for anything! My horse's racing name is Fast Like That, but around the barn, we just call her Blanca."

"We have several nice Thoroughbreds here. I'll have to show you sometime." I smile and wink at her. She smiles too.

"I'd like that!"

"Maybe you could teach me to race? I bet I'd be good at it!" I say, even though I have no desire to be around horses or race. Hey, the cute girl doesn't have to know that!

"Sure! But, I always win, just so you know." she jokes.

"Maybe you just haven't seen me ride yet!" I tease. Is this a good time to say I just learned to trot? No, probably not...

"Oh, Mr. Bigtalk, huh? Wanna put your money where you mouth is?" she laughs.

"I'd rather put the money in my mouth. I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse!' I smile.

"As long as it's not Blanca." she says. "But, I won't keep you from breakfast. I hope to see you again Prince Chase."

I wink again. "I'm sure I'll see you very soon, Lady Alaska!" I stand and kiss her hand. She blushes again, and goes back to her seat. I stay standing so I can make my announcement.

"Thank you all you wonderful ladies. I loved meeting each and everyone of you. Before we can eat, as I'm sure everyone wants to, I have a few girls who I would like to stay behind. If I call your name, please stay back with me for a few moments. If I do not, please proceed to the dining room for breakfast."

"The girls who will stay behind are:  
Annabelle Sarah Parker

Lady Mary Jo Morsco

Lady Angel-Lynn Joy Reid

Lady Josephine Mary Stewart

Lady Hana Eunice Kim

Lady Zoey Palamla Holstein

Lady Regan Piper Louise

Lady Riley Millie McGreeves

Lady Kamri McGrove

Lady Hannah Skylar Rosemary

and

Lady Jean Louise Finch"

"Thank you, and the rest of you may proceed to the dining room!"

There you go! Your first elimination! I wasn't as picky as I could have been, so mainly my characters are gone. I just want to say that just because I eliminated your character, doesn't mean I didn't like them. It means that I didn't feel that I could write for your character well enough to do them justice. Or that I couldn't see them marrying Chase.

**Thank you all! I will try to set up a poll on my profile to vote for the remaining girls. The next chapter will be the first breakfast, either in Chase's POV or no POV, and a lot of girls will be featured! **

**Thank you all for sticking with me this far! DO NOT EXPECT ANOTHER CHAPTER THIS LONG FOR A WHILE! It was freaking 16 pages on word! And 4,000 words! I'll try to update fast, though! Hugs and kittens! **

**~Zanzi~ **


	29. Chapter 27

**Hi everyone! Guess whose back! Yay! This chapter isn't 4,000 words long, but it's a pretty good length, I think. It's the first breakfast, so there's a couple different areas we'll focus on. So, yah! Hope you like it! Also, alert. I have a MINOR curse in here, but I only use it because it was an epic quote sent in for Alyssa. Sorry, I don't like doing it, but it needed to be done!**

**I put the survey on my bio, so please vote on them! Try not to vote for your own girl, though. I won't kill you, but it's not very fair. Also, I went through and put whether a character was main, supporting, or minor on my bio as well. So, go check that out! Ok, thanks!**

**Shoutout to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited! We're up to 45 favorites/follows! That's amazing! It's become one of the most popular SYOC Selection stories! YAY! Especially shoutout to 4love4love4, because she's always on it, and to shades for her comments and the freaking amazing slideshow she put together. **

Chapter 27- The First Breakfast

The girls who had not been asked to stay filled after Megan into the dining hall. They exchanged nervous looks with each other, wondering where they were really going. The sound of high heeled shoes clicked as the group walked down the hallway. Some of the girls who had met on the plane walked next to each other. Lizeth squeezed Alaska's hand, and Katherine found Lucilia and smiled nervously. All the girls were nervous about walking somewhere, but they were more nervous about what they might see when they stopped.

Megan stopped at one of the doors. "This way, ladies. And let's hurry. We're running a little late." She opened the door. Behind it was the beautiful royal dining room, where the royal family ate.

"Wow..." Nova breathed, from behind the back of the pack.

Sky nodded. "It's beautiful!"

Aspen shrugged. "Ehhh! I've seen better!"

Josie smirked. "Really? You've seen something more impressive than the royal dining room? Where, might I ask?"

Alaska and Lizeth giggled, while Aspen blushed. Fern tried to back up her friend. "Oh, well you know, us twos have been to a LOT of impressive places. You know the set for the popular TV show now "Lone Wolves"? I've been there."

Miranda gasped. "Really hon'? Oh, I do love that show! Tell me, is there really a built-in airplane in the wall where Lester proposed to Kaitlin?".

Christine sighed. "Ummm... spoiler alert! I haven't seen that episode yet!"

Fern nodded. "Yes, and did you know that Catherine's giant doll house is going to have it's own spin-off series? It's going to be called "Wolves and Dolls"

"OMG!" Miranda squealed. "That's amazing! When does it come out?"

Aspen laughed. "That's not even the best part! Guess who got the role as Kurt's fiancé? Me!"

"You've got to be kiddin' hon'! That's amazing!" Miranda said.

Macyn looked puzzled, "I don't watch this show. Why is there an airplane built into a wall?"

Caitlin raised her hand, "Yes, I am too!"

Stella started to explain, "Well, it's a romantic comedy where these two couples..."

There was a cough. Megan was staring at them. The royals, including Prince Chase, were all here and staring at them too.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, your highnesses!" Alaska apologized profusely.

"Yes, we are horrified!" Addy said, curtsying deeply.

"Please, it's fine." Queen America graciously waved her hand to excuse the girls.

King Maxon gestured to the chairs. "Please! Sit! Chase will be here in a second."

The girls all sat down. Everyone couldn't help but notice that some of the chairs were empty.

Katherine took the seat next to Lucilia. Lucilia beamed at her. "Isn't this exciting?" she whispered to Katherine, "We've made it through the first round so far!"

"Yah, it's great..." Katherine said, a little wistfully. She was excited too, but so nervous. The royals all looked so, well, royal. Even Lizzie, who was only 12. Katherine didn't think she had looked that mature when she was twelve. She stared down into her plate of pancakes and wondered whether she was really ready for this.

_Maybe this wasn't such a good idea_, Katherine thought.

The head of the table was busy. Fern and Aspen, who had positioned themselves to try and be as close to the royals, were gossiping about the other girls.

"Did you see Miranda?" Fern asked Aspen. "I mean, who even has a Southern drawl anymore."

The redhead flipped her curls. "I know! And that Macyn girl. Obviously, that French thing isn't real."

Fern nodded and took a sip of her water. Neither girl touched their plates, even though the pancakes were giving off a delicious aroma. "And Nova!" she lowered her voice, because the girl was only 3 seats down the table. "Why do they let trash like her into the palace? I mean, it's not like she's cleaning the floors or anything."

Aspen shrugged. "I hear she's an orphan. Maybe they felt sorry for her." Fern nodded.

Parallel to Aspen and Fern, Stella sat in between to Lizzie and Josie. The young girl was so excited to see her beloved trainer again. "Stella! You look sooooo pretty! Who did your hair? Do you like your maids? Are they nice to you? Are you going to go ride? Did you like Chase? Did Chase like you? Is it love? Will you marry him? If you marry him, can I get another pony?"

Stella laughed. "Whoa there, girlie! I don't know yet! Chase seemed nice enough, and we got along, but I've only just met the guy."

Josie was also giggling. "And why don't you ask your parents if you want another pony?"

Lizzie sighed dramatically. "They said no... but I really, really, really want another one!"

Stella and Josie tried hard not to laugh at the little girl's facial expression. Stella ruffled her hair. "I'm sorry kiddo. Life's rough, isn't it."

Lizzie put her elbows and sulked. "I know! Why is it always rough for me, though!?"

Alaska had to try hard to keep from spitting food out her mouth. Lizeth was so funny sometimes. Why did she have to tell that joke?

Alaska elbowed her friend. "Stop it! You're going to make me spit!"

Lizeth laughed. "Wouldn't that be a tragedy!" she said sarcastically.

Alaska batted her eyelashes. "Well, of course! The prince won't fall in love with me if I spit all over him."

Lizeth rolled her eyes. "Oh yes. We're sitting at the far end of the table, about as far away from the Prince as possible. You're telling me that you could spit over a length of like 30 feet?"

"You don't know I couldn't!" Alaska joked.

"Then do it!" Lizeth prodded, knocking over her orange juice and spilling it all over the linen tablecloth. Megan gave them the death glare as maids came to clean the mess (**A/N XD 'Mes' *prods shades***), which just made the two girls giggle harder.

Nova was sitting next to Alyssa Ferrer and across from Celine. She picked at her food, but was too nervous to each surrounded by all these twos. Plus, the food was much heavier than Nova was used too. Better to not make herself sick on the first day.

_Please don't notice me, please don't notice me, please don't notice me!_ Nova thought. She had seen Celine on TV before, and thought the gymnast could be quite a brat when she wanted to be.

Of course, the praying didn't work. The girl sitting next to Celine, Victoria, asked, "Celine, you aren't eating. Do you feel alright?"

Celine glared at Victoria, and then at Nova. "Yes, but I don't know how I feel about eating this close to trash."

Nova blushed, but attempted to defend herself. She hated herself for her shaky voice. "I-i-i'm not t-trash. I-i'm bet-better than you'-you'll ever b-b-be."

Celine laughed rudely. "Aww! The little trashy bitch is scared! What ya gonna do 'bout it? Soil yourself?".

Nova looked down and blushed harder. She didn't know what to say to defend herself, but help came from the most unlikely source. The other two, Alyssa, spoke up, glaring daggers at Celine. "Bitches are female dogs, dogs bark, bark is from trees, trees are nature, and nature is beautiful. So really, she should thank you for the compliment."

Celine's smug face looked like someone had slapped her. Nova giggles and Victoria smiled. Alyssa stared at Celine until the gymnast looked away. Then, she went back to working on her plate of pancakes. Nova whispered a silent 'thank you' to the girl, but Alyssa said nothing more. Under the table though, she gave Nova's hand a gentle squeeze.

Chase finished his pancakes in 2 minutes flat. His father looked up. "Easy son, slow down."

His mother chided him, "You know you'll get cramps if you eat to fast."

Maxon smiled and whispered, "Or you'll get very bad gas. Which you don't want in front of these lovely ladies."

Lizzie laughed. "Please eat too fast! For me, please!" she begged her brother.

"Enough, Lizzie, leave him alone." America said to her daughter.

Chase, feeling the need to get out of the conversation, called across the room. "Lady Christine, how are you enjoying the meal?"

Christine blushed pink, but smiled. "It's delicious, your highness. Did you enjoy it?"

"Oh yes!" Chase nodded, "But I will still look forward to the chocolate chip crepes you promised to make me."

Christine laughed, "Anytime you want, Prince Chase."

America and Maxon exchanged looks. The king laughed and whispered into his wife's ear. "Chase is doing better than me."

"How can you tell?" America whispered back.

"Well, a girl is planning to make him a meal, instead of kneeing him in the groin" Maxon said with a laugh. America swatted him playfully.

"You still married me, didn't you!" America teased her husband.

"Yes dear, but I've always been an idiot!" Maxon replied.

**Please review, follow, and favorite. And vote! Have a good night!**

**~Zanzi**


	30. Chapter 28

**Hello all! Zanzi again. Sorry, this is kinda a short chapter, but I'm not feeling very good right now. My cat ran away from home, and my mom told me that she doesn't think she'll come back. It's been almost 36 hours now. So readers, please pray for my cat to come back. She's my brother's cat, and he's away in college. He doesn't know she's gone yet... **

**This isn't the first date, but it's a little blurb about Prince Chase's day after breakfast and the interview. Next chapter will either be the first class with Megan or the first date. I did have a competition, but I'm not sure right now who won. I'll check. **

Chapter 27- Dummies

By the time he had finally finished the Interviews and breakfast with the girls, Chase wanted to go back to bed. He was completely worn out and it was only 11 in the morning. Luckily, he wasn't obligated to see any of the girls until the next day, so he could spend the rest of the day by himself. Besides, the girls were probably all in their first class anyway.

Chase walked to the only place he wanted to be after meeting 35 girls. Outside. He wasn't big into nature, but he loved the grounds of the palace. The were always brightly lit and airy. Also, they never had any wild animals like snakes in them. Chase didn't like admitting it to anyone, but he was terrified of snakes. The way they slithered was just plain creepy!

Once outside, he whistled to his dogs. Goldie, the golden retriever, came running, but Missy, the German retriever refused to come. He whistled again and Goldie came up and nuzzled against his side. Missy still refused to come any closer. He whistled one more time, longer and louder than before, and finally Missy came. _She knew she was in trouble, _Chase guessed.

Missy and Goldie followed Chase to perhaps his favorite area of all times. The fencing arena. He walked into the storage closet and put on a random fencing uniform. The mesh padding blocked the swords from hurting anyone by accident. But the swords they used for practice were dull, and couldn't hurt anyone anyway. Chase grabbed a round-tip sword and a helmet. Then he walked into the small practice arena.

The arena was shaped like a circle, with a large iron fence around it. It was not covered on the top so that fresh air could get through to the fencers. The suits could get very hot, since they had no insulation. Firm mesh doesn't breathe very much.

Chase, in a very foul mood, started attacking a practice dummy that stood at the edge of the arena. He jabbed, thrust, and parried so hard, he cut a slit in the dummy's neck. Stuffing leaked out of it.

"Woah dude!" a voice said from behind Chase. "Let's not kill the practice dummy, 'kay?"

Chase turned around, sword in hand, ready to stab the intruder. A blond boy, looking to be about 18 years old, with cheerful green eyes and freckles stood behind him. "Oh, it's just you, Hunter." he sighed, putting the sword down.

Hunter smiled. "Oh, just me, Chase? Is that how you greet your best friend for 16 years?"

Chase rolled his eyes, but Hunter did have a point. Hunter had been his first and greatest friend. His mom, Georgia, had apparently been a friend of Chase's mother. Hunter and Chase had met when they were in diapers still, and had been together ever since. Although Hunter was a year younger than Chase, the prince enjoyed his company. Hunter was a prankster and always had a trick up his sleeve. He was sneaky and secretive, which made him the perfect friend to have when planning mischief.

Hunter was also quite the ladies man. Perfect blond hair, green eyes, six-pack, the worst. The boy had it all. He'd had more girlfriends than Chase had swords. Technically, that number was in the 20s. Hunter was a little bit of a player, but he never took advantage of any of the girls. Chase admired him for that, but wondered why the playboy never finished any of his plays.

Chase sighed. "Man, hunter, these girls are going to kill me!"

Hunter laughed. "I'll take 'em for you, if you want! I'd love to have 35 beautiful women."

"22 now." Chase corrected, and started stabbing the dummy again. This time, he swung and the dummy's head came clean off. It flew up and hit Hunter in the chest.

"You upset bro? 'Cause you just killed Dill the Dummy." Hunter said, trying hard not to laugh. He set the head down and picked up his own sword, which was leaning against the wall.

"Maybe." Chase said, taking a shot at another dummy. "It's these stupid girls, man. I don't really like any of them."

Hunter started warming up with his sword. "Hey, it probably takes time before you know your future wife. Calm down, dude. And stop killing my dummies. I'm not made of gold, ya know!"

Chase kept attacking it. He said, "Sure, but my dad told me he knew it was going to my mother from the moment he saw her. Trust me, it did not happen like that with any of these girls."

Hunter pretended to nod seriously. "Maybe these girls are all defective?" he said, laughing at his joke.

Chase turned to glare at him. Without looking, he swung his sword backward and sliced off the other dummy's head.

"Not Martha!" Hunter moaned.

Chase looked embarrassed. "Oops, sorry man. I'll buy you a new one."

Hunter waved his hand. "Doesn't matter. We've got more." Chase gave him a hopeful look, but Hunter added, "But I won't get them out until you leave. I don't have that many more."

Chase nodded and lifted up his mask. "I was probably just about to go back up anyway. Mom will be looking for me."

Hunter clapped his friend on the back. "Just relax, bro. I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning."

Chase nodded. He took off the rest of the uniform and handed it to Hunter. "Can you put this away for me?"

Hunter pretended to bow. "Of course, your majesty. I'd be delighted."

Chase hit his friend. "Oh shut up and leave me alone! I'm gonna go back to bed."

"Of course, sir! Right away, sir!" Hunter laughed, dodging another of Chase's blows. "Ok, ok, I'm going!".

Chase laughed too. He was feeling much better. "See ya later Hunter." he called to his friend, while he walked out of the arena. He called to his dogs and walked back up to the castle. _It's time for a nap! _he thought, checking his watch.

**Sorry, this was kinda a boring chapter, but I needed to introduce Hunter. He's cute, right! He'll be hilarious later on. In case it wasn't clear, Hunter is the owner of the fencing arena as a part time job. Meaning, he buys new dummies. **

**Please remember to vote on the pole! So far, there aren't that many votes. But please don't vote for your own character! So far, I think the leads are Nova and Alaska, with Celine, Miranda, and Stella shortly behind.**

I hope my cat's back in the morning!

~Zanzi


	31. Chapter 29

**Hey everyone! Guess who won a horse show! *points to self* This girl! Well, and Zanzibar. But still! It was super fun and we got to jump like 2'3-2'6. That's pretty awesome! Also, 50 freaking follows/favorites! OMG! THANK YOU ALL SOOOOOOOOO MUCH!**

**My kitty hasn't come home, but I don't think she's going too. It's been almost 6 days. It's sad, but at least she had a happy life while we had her. :( **

**Oh, and to clear up 4love4love4's excellent question, Hunter is a two. Techincally, Georgia and her husband (blanking on his name. Someone Illea... Gregory? ehhh...) are not royalty, but they became advisors to the king which makes them ones. As Hunter is not working as an advisor, and instead works at the fencing arena and also as an actor, he is a two. Sorry, I should have said that. But, since his parents are ones, he's very used to royal life. **

**This is the first date. I had to switch some things around because of eliminations and such. So, the first date here was not the first date for shipping names. Sorry. It was the second place girl, though. So this is Chase's first date with Gracie. I'm not sure you can call it a real date, but still. It's a nice change from the many "dinner and a movie dates" I'm sure I'll be writing later.**

**Also, question. What would you rather see in upcoming chapters, a rebel/foreign attack or another fairly large elimination? **

Chapter 29- A Scarf and a Secret

The next day, Chase woke up feeling considerably better. He'd gotten a full 7 hour of sleep. Which, for being the Prince and trying not to have nightmares about dating 35 girls, was pretty good. He got out of bed, stretched, and slipped his feet into his navy blue, wool slippers.

He was in the bathroom, combing his hair when a knock on the door came. Of course, he could have someone comb it for him, but why bother? It was just stupid to make someone else do a normal part of your morning routine. But, he wondered if someone had complained that he wasn't letting a maid help him. "Come in." he called, hoping he wasn't about to get in trouble. He may be 20, but Megan terrified him. He did not want to make her mad, especially when she had 35 girls to teach.

The door opened and there stood a young maid, about 17 years old, holding a small package. She curtsied. "There's been a package sent for you, your highness. From a girl named Grace, I believe". She handed him the package.

"Thank you." He told the girl. "You may go."

She nodded and curtsied again. "Thank you, your highness." she walks away down the hall.

Chase looked at the package in his hands. It was neatly wrapped with silver paper, tied with a golden ribbon on top. It was cute, but Chase had no idea what it contained. He could remember Gracie, short and blond and sweet, but he didn't remember many details from their Interview. He had tried to forget most of the Interviews as soon as he good, actually.

He sat on his bed and looked at the package. He wondered what could be inside. Finally, he could stand it no longer. Chase tore open the paper and opened the box. The was soft, turquoise thing and a note. He took out the fabric and found it was a scarf. He smiled. It was his favorite color.

He unfolded the note and read the contents. It read:

"Dear Prince Chase,

I hope you like the scarf. You did say you wanted it. Is it turquoise enough for you? Sorry, some of the stitches may be bad. I'm still working on being fast.

Love,

Gracie 3"

Chase laughed. Now he remembered the Interview. Of course, he had asked for a scarf. He didn't think she would actually give him one though. That was adorable.

He looked back at the note. Gracie signed her name with a little heart. Did that mean anything? Was she hinting at something? Chase didn't know. But, he knew he needed to thank her!

He grabbed a sheet of stationary and a pen from his writing desk. He scribbled his letter back to Gracie furiously. After several different attempts, 3 sheets of paper, and 7 typos, he finally finished his letter. He had written:

"Dear Lady Grace,

Thank you for the scarf. You were right, that is my favorite color of blue. I think your stitches looked lovely, actually. I would like to thank you in person, as well. How do you feel if I could pick you up at 11:00 this morning? Perhaps we could watch a movie?

Hoping to see you soon,

Chase".

He sealed the note in an envelope, wrote 'Gracie' on the top, and walked into the hall. He looked for a maid that looked like they may had been headed to one of the Selected girl's room. He found a woman carrying a cup of tea in the same direction.

"Excuse me." Chase called. "Do you happen to be going to give that tea to one of the Selected girls?"

The woman smiled. "Yes, your highness. I'm just taking it to Lady Christine. She's been up for an hour now and is a little thirsty."

Chase handed her the letter. "Do you think you could take this letter to Lady Grace for me?"

"Yes, of course." the woman nodded. "Her room happens to be right across the hall from lady Christine's."

Chase smiled. "Thank you."

The woman nodded and walked away, probably to deliver the tea and the letter. Chase walked back to his room. Maybe there was still time for another hour of sleep before he had to get up. Breakfast didn't start until 9:30 anyway. He was sure most of the girls were still in bed.

He yawned. "I'll just take a quick nap!" he said, pushing his door open and letting it fall behind him. He barely made it to the bed before his knees buckles. He collapsed on the soft mattress and was instantly asleep.

As it turns out, when the letter arrived at Gracie's door, she was gone. She decided to get out for a little walk. She had been told the previous day that she would have to spend today in the ladies' room, so Gracie figured she'd get out and wander around the castle.

She had her maids, Bridget, Iris, and Cyrstal, dress her in a simple day gown. It was a floaty thing, with thick spaghetti straps. It came to just past her knees and was a pale yellow color. It was decorated with white polka dots. Iris, who was quite good at doing hair, had twisted her blond locks up into a braided crown around her head. She looked quite pretty, like a real princess.

Grace didn't notice any of that. She hadn't really even looked the mirror this morning. She was to busy having a war with herself to notice anything else. She had hoped taking a walk would clear her head of the arguments, but it had just seemed to make it worse.

As she marched past hallway by hallway, she thought about her problem. Should she have told Prince Chase? Maybe. She had told Megan the general problem, but not how bad it truly was. No one else knew at all.

No one but her.

And it was driving her crazy! She hadn't gotten much sleep last night. Gracie felt so guilty. She knew she shouldn't really be here. She couldn't win. But, yet, she was here.

She was also nervous. It had been 2 1/2 weeks since her last attack. It was a new record. Now, it was just waiting until the next one. When would it happen? Would it be today? Tomorrow? Gracie didn't know. And it terrified her.

Shaking her head to try and clear her thoughts, Gracie walked slowly back to her room. She didn't want to get to far away from her maids in case it did happen today. When she got back to her room, she found all three of her maids grinning at her.

"What's going on?" she asked them.

Iris, the most talkative one, spoke. "You have a letter!"

Crystal, who was the youngest, squealed. "From Prince Chase!"

Gracie gasped. "Give me the letter!" she said, running over to her maids and grabbing the letter from Iris.

She read it carefully and her heart sank. She turned around, so her maids wouldn't see her smile fall.

"What is it?" Bridget asked, slowly. Bridget was always careful not to overstep her boundaries.

"He wants to go on a date with me today." Gracie said, clutching the letter to her chest. Her maids all squealed!

"What time?" Bridget asked.

"What should you wear?" Iris panicked.

"Hooray!" Crystal squealed, and gave Gracie a hug.

Bridget laughed, but gently pulled Crystal off of Gracie. "So what time is the date?" she asked again.

Gracie checked the paper. "11:00 this morning."

Bridget and Iris gasped and Crystal screamed. "What is it?" Gracie cried, afraid.

Iris was the one who answered. "It's already 10:37! We only have 20 minutes to get you ready!".

The maids pulled her to the bathroom where she was given probably the shortest bath of her life. Then, her hair was taken down from the braided crown and hung in loose curls. She changed out of the yellow dress, which made her look very young, into a dress that looked like the sea. It was teal, but the bottom had laces of other colors running up it like purple, green, and blue.

"There, you're ready!" Crystal giggled.

"With no time to spare!" Iris noted, "Now, go act natural and don't be nervous. I'm sure the Prince is a very nice guy."

Gracie nodded, but didn't say anything. She wasn't sure she could have. She had other reasons not to be nervous.

Chase woke up at 10:57. He yawned and looked at his alarm clock. "10:57!" he screamed. He was going to be soooooooo late.

He jumped out of bed, brushed his hair and teeth, put on nicer clothes, and ran out the door in a minute flat. He got to Gracie's door a minute before 11:00.

"I win!" Chase thought to himself as he knocked.

"Come in!" said a voice from inside. Chase pushed open the door.

Gracie was sitting on her bed, her teal dress fanned out around her. She held a book in her hand, but didn't seem to be reading. Chase could tell she had been waiting for him to arrived. He suddenly felt nervous. He had never been on a date before. What was he supposed to do? Hug her? Smile like an idiot? Fall on his knees and pledge his eternal love to her? Ok, probably not the last one.

"Hello Lady Grace. You look beautiful." Chase told the girl. She blushed but wouldn't look at him in the eye.

"Thank you" she whispered in a soft voice. She rose off of the bed gracefully and walked toward him. "You look very nice as well."

Chase smiled. "Thank you. And thank you also for the scarf. It was lovely. The perfect shade of blue."

Gracie did not smile, but looked down at her shoes. "It was no trouble."

Chase laughed. "Well, either way, I appreciate it. Now, where should we go? Maybe to the movie room? Or take a walk on the palace grounds? I know a really nice place, a gazebo with a pond right..." he looked over at the girl and stopped.

Gracie's eyes were wide. She was no longer blinking and her expression had gone slack. As Chase watched in horror, she fell backwards onto the floor. Her body shook and she twitched uncontrollably. Chase recognized the signs. She was having a seizure.

He ran to the door and called to a maid passing by. "Help!" He screamed. "Medical emergency! Lady Gracie is having a seizure!". The maid dropped the heavy laundry basket she was carrying and scurried into the room.

Gracie's eyes were rolled up in her head, but the twitching had stopped. Iris and Crystal came into the room. "What happened?"" Iris said with a gasp.

"She had a seizure!" Chase said, his voice shaking.

"Crystal, get a doctor!" Iris yelled. Crystal ran as fast as she could out the door.

Chase looked at Iris. "Should we move her onto the bed?" he asked.

Iris shook her head. "No, she could seize again if we move her. For now, just let her be."

The other maid got a pillow from the bed and placed it under Gracie's head. "For now," she said, "That's all we can do."

A minute later, Crystal came back with the doctor. He ran to Gracie and examined her. The girl groaned, just coming back to consciousness. "Get a stretcher." the doctor commanded to Iris and Chrystal.

Chase watched as they carried Gracie to the hospital. The doctor turned toward him. "Prince Chase, this was no normal seizure, you must understand. I've seen the signs before. But I must ask, did she tell you anything of her medical history?"

Chase shook his head. "No, nothing. There was nothing on the form either."

"What caste was she? Before she came here, of course." the doctor asked.

"A six." Chase remembered. "She was a seamstress."

The doctor nodded. "Ahhh! Of course. It is very common with lower castes. She wouldn't have had the means to get medicine for it as well. And, if she came here for the money, then no, of course there would be nothing on the form.

Chase was mystified. "What's wrong with her!? What happened!?"

The doctor patted Chase gently on the shoulder. "This will come as a shock to you, Prince Chase. I'm sorry to tell you, but Lady Gracie has epilepsy. A fairly bad case, by the look of it."

Chase swayed on the spot. No, it couldn't be! Not that! Anything but that! Tears filled his eyes and he turned away so the doctor wouldn't see him crying. "I-I-I'm sorry" he said, as he ran out the door.

**Duh duh duh! Plot twist! I hope you liked it though! Remember to follow, favorite, and review! You guys rock!**

**Also, if you want to read something a little like the Selection that I originally wrote, check out my story on fictionpress "Ever After. Maybe?" It's funny! I swear! Thanks! And remember to vote on my profile for who should win the Selection. So far, Nova's the winner with 6 votes! Again, please don't vote for your own character. And, just because a character wins the voting, doesn't mean they'll win the Selection. That is my choice, in the end. But it's good to see who you guys like! **

**Thanks! **

**~Zanzi **


	32. Chapter 30

**Hello all! I have like no time to write, because my show is tonight! I'm excited, nervous, and scared! ALL AT THE SAME TIME! But I finally had this chapter written! It's kinda cute. I liked this as a nice change for you know, DATES! Gosh, there are sooooo many dates!**

**Alright, so please remember to vote on my profile! Thanks! **

**Chapter 30- 'Lazy' Days in Charades**

*Happens during Grace and Chase's date*

Aspen stormed into the Ladies room, Fern loyally running behind to keep up. The other girls looked up from their clusters to see what the commotion was. "WHERE ARE THEY!?" Aspen screamed at the top her lungs.

Fern tried to console her friend. "They may not be on a date! What if Grace got sick or something and Chase was just busy. I'm sure he has a lot of duties to do. He is a prince!" she giggled and settled on the arm of an empty pink loveseat.

Aspen glared at her. "Yah, because that's SO likely Fern! Maybe you're as stupid as your name!"

Fern blushed pink. "What's wrong with my name?" she said, a little huffily.

Aspen rolled her eyes. "Nothing, hon', unless you think it's weird to be named after a weed!"

Fern sputtered and stood up. She marched to Aspen and glared. "We-ll, ferns are not weeds, they're a different type of plant! And what's so great about the name Aspen! It has "Ass" right in it! And that's what you are!" she screamed.

Aspen yelled back, "You know I go by Brooklyn!"

Fern rolled her eyes dramtically. "Oh, I'm sorry 'Buttlyn', I forgot you were already the queen!"

Aspen tried to lunge at Fern. "How dare you!" but she was grabbed from behing by two pairs of hands. Nova and Christine held Aspen back, while on the other side Miranda struggled to hold back Fern.

"LET ME AT HER!" Aspen screamed. "I'LL MAKE HER PAY!" she lunged again, Nova and Christine barely restraining her.

Fern backed up into Miranda and burst into tears. She fled from the room, almost running straight into Megan as she did. Megan regained her balance and observed the comotion in the room.

"What is going on in here?" she asked the room at large, taking in the girls' shocked faces, Miranda standing there looking after Fern, and Nova and Christine still holding Aspen. Aspen was still figthing to get to Fern.

"I can see there's a little tention in the air. I guess I came at a perfect time, then. Ladies, it is time for me to tell you the rules of the palace." Megan said.

"Listen up, these are very important! Rule #1: No physical violence. If one of you lays even a hand on another, you will be immediatley dissmissed from the palace." she looked at Aspen when she said that. Aspen blushed and sat on the loveseat that Fern had just left.

"Rule #2," Megan continues, "You are not allowed to leave the palace without direct permission from Prince Chase. No other royal is allowed to dismiss you. Just the Prince".

"Rule #3 is that you must be prompt to both meals and lessons. You will have lessons with me 5 days a week. I will be instructing you on how to act in the palace." she says. Most of the girls look dissapointed by this fact, and Miranda sighed. Megan gave her a look, and she quickly disguised it as a cough.

"Rule #4 adds on to rule #3. On weekends, you are required to spend most of your day in the ladies room UNLESS on a date with the prince. That is all the rules, for now. I will be happy to add more if the need comes up. That is all." she said, and then left the room, closing the door behind her.

There was a few minutes of silence. "Well, that happened!" Macyn laughed.

Stella giggle. "She didn't lock the door, did she? I mean, the way she said we were 'required to stay here' scared me a little. Most of the girls giggled, but Miranda got up and checked the door.

"It's open!" she affirmed. "So, now we know we aren't being held hostage, anyone want to play charades?"

Aspen laughed rudely, "What are you 5?! Who wants to play charades?"

Nova raised her hand. "Actually, I think it would be kinda fun!" Everyone else in the room, minus Annyelse, who was reading a book, and Aspen nodded.

"Alright, then, who wants to go first?" Miranda asked. Christine raised her hand. "C'mon up!" Miranda called to her. "I have a really good idea for what you can be".

Christine came up to the front of the room by the door. Miranda whispered something into Josie's ear, which made both girls start giggling. "Ok!" Josie beamed. "I've got this."

Christine got down on her hands and knees and started snorting around. She made snort noises with her nose.

Nova called out, "A pig!"

Stella cried, "A hog!"

Josie screamed, "Aspen!"

Aspen glared daggers at Josie, but Christine stood up. "Right on the nose, Josie. Come on, you're up next."

Josie walked up to the front and Christine whispered what she should do next. Josie giggled, grabbed a rose from a nearby vace, and stuck it in her teeth. She danced around, marching with an invisible partner.

"Salsa dancing?" Lily wondered, "Or the tango."

"Yep!" Josie said happily and spit the rose onto the carpet. "Bleck! Girls, rose flavor is not good, just saying!".

Lily came up to the front. Josie told her the next pantomime to do, which made Lily burst out laughing. She rolled her eyes at Josie but then stood up straight. She got on her tip toes and walked delicatly around the room. She found a chair and sat down like a lady.

"OHHHH! A LADY!" Miranda said, wanting to play the game.

"Not just any lady! Is it Megan?" Alaska guessed.

"Yes." Lily said. Alaska, a little reluctantly, got up and walked to the front of the room. Lily gave her the next topic. Alaska nearly fell on the floor laughing. "How do I even do that!?"

Lily shrugged. "I don't know. Figure it out!"

Alaska was about to start miming when the clock struck 12. "Oh! It's time for lunch!" Alaska said, and scrambled for the door.

"COME BACK HERE!" everyone screamed after her!


End file.
